World No. 8 Karolina Muchova has cast doubt on her Australian Open participation after withdrawing from the Brisbane International. Muchova, who made her first Grand Slam final at this year's French Open, did not play any tournaments after the US Open due to a wrist injury. After the US Open, Muchova took a break to address her wrist injury but she failed to recover in time for the WTA Finals.
When making a hard decision to skip the WTA Finals, Muchova's focus turned to being fully ready for the 2024 season. Unfortunately, Muchova's wrist is seemingly yet to fully heal as the Czech tennis star won't be ready to make her comeback in the first week of the 2024 season at the Brisbane International.
Muchova has been struggling with a wrist issue for the past few months
After losing to Coco Gauff in the US Open semifinal, Muchova didn't play any tournaments during the Asian swing and she also wasn't able to make her WTA Finals debut in Cancun.
"I am heartbroken to announce that I will miss my first WTA Finals in Cancun. Together with the team and doctors we tried everything till the last moments to resolve my wrist injury. Unfortunately, the time needed for the recovery is longer than we would've hoped for and therefore I had to make this unpleasant decision. I greatly appreciate the support of all the fans. I will do my best to be back in 2024 and get another chance to be part of the @wtafinals," Muchova announced just days before the start of the WTA Finals.
When Muchova signed up for Brisbane, it appeared that she would be ready for the start of the new season. But now that Muchova is out of Brisbane. there are certainly question marks and doubts over her Australian Open participation. It remains to be seen if Muchova will be ready to compete in the opening Grand Slam of the season.