Karolina Muchova is withdrawing from the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha due to an unspecified injury but hopes to be ready to return to action in Dubai.
After suffering a second-round exit at the Australian Open following a loss to Naomi Osaka, the Czech tennis star competed at the WTA 500 tournament in Linz last week.
There, the world No. 17 won her opening two matches before falling to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Next week, Muchova was slated to play her event of the year.
But because of an injury, the 28-year-old won’t make her fourth Doha appearance this year.
“Hi everyone! I’m sorry to miss the Doha tournament this year. I’m working on my recovery and will see you all in Dubai,” she announced through an Instagram Story.
Karolina Muchova announcement© Karolina Muchova/Instagram – Fair Use
In the past, Muchova reached the Qatar Open quarterfinal in 2019.
In her last two appearances, the former world No. 7 lost in the 2020 Doha second round and exited the event in the round-of-16 two years ago.
Muchova had a promising run in Linz but then stunningly easily lost in the semifinal
In Linz – where she was the No. 1 seed – the Czech had a first-round bye before beating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2 6-3 and outlasting Anastasia Potapova 6-3 3-6 6-3.
“It was a very tough match. She played really great. I lost a bit of focus in the second set, and she just took a chance,” the top seed said after beating Potapova.
“I’m glad I managed it. Even the last game, it could’ve gone either way if she broke me.
“I was just thinking where I was going to serve … to serve it out. I just really wanted to finish it. I was just trying to be focused, and the serve in the last game really helped me.”
Just when it seemed that Muchova would probably go on to win her first title since 2019, she got crushed 0-6 4-6 by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semifinal.
Now that she is out of Doha, she may have been impacted by a physical issue during the match.
Tennis World USA