"This one really hurts": Eva Lys confirms weeks out after knee setback

World No. 39 Eva Lys announced that she will be out of competition for a few weeks following the right knee injury that affected her at the Australian Open. The German No. 1 lost in the first round of the tournament against Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, although she still stayed a few more days in Melbourne to play doubles.

"I mean at first I wasn't really sure whether it's going to be fine to play, so I was very, very happy that I could definitely go into the match," Lys said at a press conference after the defeat against Cirstea. "I knew I wasn't really at 100%, but tried everything I could. I'm happy it's nothing too serious, nothing I'm going to be out for a long time with, but something that needs a little bit of attention."

Three days later, the worst came for the German. She joined the doubles draw alongside Dutch player Suzan Lamens, and they lost in the first round against Andreja Klepac and Marie Bouzkova, who were leading 5-0 when Lys’s injury forced her to retire from the match—and give her opponents the win.

The German has a hyperextended right-knee injury, according to her social media announcement, which will keep her out of competition for a few weeks. "Hey everyone, I wanted to share an update with you. After the first evaluation in Sydney didn’t show anything concerning, further tests back home confirmed a knee injury that will keep me out of competition for the next couple of weeks… and honestly, this one really hurts."

"Being sidelined is one of the hardest parts of this journey, when all you want to do is compete," the world No. 39 added. The German prepares for a drop in the ranking—after not defending the points earned in the fourth round of 2025, she is expected to fall about 20 positions and will be ranked world No. 59 in the next ranking update.

"Maybe being tested is part of the process, and sometimes a challenged life might be the best therapist," Lys added on her Instagram stories. "For now, I’m taking it day by day, focusing on healing and trusting what’s ahead. Thank you for all the love and support—I feel it more than you know."

The 24-year-old player had registered the WTA 1000 Qatar Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as her next events. The action in Qatar starts on February 9, so we can practically rule out Lys’s participation in Doha, and it remains to be seen if she decides to attend Dubai—a tournament she could also skip, considering the long trip to the Middle East for just one tournament.

It is likely that Lys will now focus her preparation on skipping the entire Middle East swing in February and instead get ready for the trip to North America at the beginning of March, where the challenges will be at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.