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Former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova has endured a grueling year battling serious injuries, but she’s finally back on court, competing at the Full Protein Caldas da Rainha Ladies Open, a WTA 125 event in Portugal.
The 2024 season had started on a high note for Pliskova. She lifted her first trophy in four years at Cluj-Napoca, then went on to reach the final in Nottingham on grass. But just weeks later, disaster struck. At the US Open, her second-round match against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini ended after only two minutes. Pliskova hasn’t played a match since that fateful day, August 29, 2024.
The 33-year-old Pliskova recalled the shocking moment in an exclusive interview with Flashscore:
My ankle broke and they took me away in a wheelchair. The biggest embarrassment… I went straight to the hospital. They found out that it was just cracked all over. Ligaments, tendons… Only the bones were holding it together. So basically, the surgery was a no-brainer.
For a player who had rarely been health-conscious, Pliskova initially assumed she would recover in three months. Instead, the injury sidelined her for an entire year, as complications dragged out her healing process. She underwent tendon surgery on her left ankle in September 2024, but when the swelling refused to subside, she was forced to have a second operation in May 2025.
Now, as she steps back onto the tour, Pliskova is tempering her expectations. She hopes to be fully ready by the Australian Open but knows patience is key. Encouragingly, she opened her comeback campaign in Portugal with a victory over Tessah Andrianjafitrimo.
In terms of tournament entries, the Czech star has little to worry about. With a protected ranking inside the Top 40 and the likelihood of receiving wildcards, access won’t be an issue. What remains uncertain, however, is how her body will hold up.
Pliskova admitted:
My body is so uncertain right now. I can see it’s not just the leg, I’m just dealing with other things. It’s just broken after doing nothing…
The injury left her unable to walk, let alone train, and it took months before she could begin running and moving again. For now, Pliskova is testing her body day by day, hopeful she can build momentum toward her favorite stages, particularly the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
