Karolina Muchova set for drop of nearly 150 places in WTA Ranking in event of early US Open loss

Karolina Muchova will play in the US Open this evening in a tough opener against Katie Volynets. But it could be a nightmare if she ends up losing out.

She lost in the semi-finals last year to Coco Gauff and endured an injury hiatus from there. It was hell for the Roland Garros finalist who had a similar breakout to Jasmine Paolini this year.

After much mediocrity, she found her groove and showed why she is a player to be feared. But it came crashing down with a wrist injury paying heed to that.

This means that she has defended a lot of points this season and given that she didn't play for nearly a year, the final batch of points will come off. This means she will drop an incredulous 142 places to 194 in the world provisionally.

The only solace for the Czech star is that similar to Raducanu when she returned at the turn of the year, the only way is up. She has minimal points barring a Palermo final to defend in the next season, so a big title could easily rebuild that.

Of course this is all academic too if she reaches the semi-finals or better. But given current form, a big ranking drop is likely for her from here.