Karolina Muchova played in the Roland Garros final recently but she wasn't fully ready as the Czech player dealt with an illness, the same one that Rybakina had.
Elena Rybakina was having a really good run at Roland Garros but the Kazakh player was strucky with an ilness whch forced her to abandon plans of playing her match. She held a press conference after that showing herself with visible symptoms struggling to speak and confirming that she tried to practice the morning of the match but couldn't do it without experiencing breathing issues a few minutes into playing.
Rybakina then posted an update a week after that confirming that she only managed to step out of the house which indicates that the illness was quite a tricky one to overcome, especially since Rybakina admitted to feeling very tired after a 30-minute walk around Paris. Muchova dealt with the same thing according to her coach Emil Miske who explained in a recent interview that Muchova endured the illness and kept playing:
“Kaja had the same illness as Rybakina, but she fought back & reached the final.. She played 2 matches where her lungs were burning madly. Her doctor said she could play, but that it would be difficult…”
That's quite an achievement by Muchova considering the illness seems to be a tricky one that attacks the lungs which are important if you're going to play tennis. Being able to endure that and then play the final as well as she did despite probably being fatigued is quite remarkable. She was up a break twice in the final set having very good chances to finish things off and win her maiden grand slam but she played Swiatek who is one of the best.
Ultimately she didn't get done but there is plenty to be excited about, especially if she stays healthy.
