Karolína Muchová’s beautiful tennis at the U.S. Open and her injury journey to get back there

By / September 4, 2025

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FLUSHING, N.Y. — What would an injury-free Karolína Muchová achieve in tennis?

Sporting counterfactuals like this one can be unsatisfying, but in the case of the 29-year-old Czech, it goes beyond titles and results and into wider tennis stardom. Muchová is one of the most natural volleyers and shotmakers in the women’s game; she grew up idolizing Roger Federer and has been compared to Ashleigh Barty.

But injuries have been cruel to Muchová. Her most recent wrist surgery, in February 2024, kept her out for nine months; she couldn’t hit two-handed backhands for a few months of her return to tennis earlier this year.

And yet here she is, regenerating once again, taking on Naomi Osaka on Wednesday night to try to reach a third straight U.S. Open semifinal.

Muchová, 29, the No. 11 seed, is a player’s player, and someone who leaves the purists purring. “She’s always been one of the most talented tennis players out there, and physically she moves really well, and she’s very strong,” Osaka said in a news conference on Monday. “So it’s going to be a really tough challenge.”

When Muchová returned to tennis last June after that nine-month layoff, Iga Świątek posted on X: “Good to have you back!” Świątek had beaten Muchová in the Czech’s only Grand Slam final the previous year, a three-set thriller at the French Open.

Her peers revere her, but talk to legends of the game and Muchová’s name comes up unprompted. During an interview last year, Justine Henin, the seven-time Grand Slam champion and a beautiful technician, singled Muchová out as a player she liked to watch. Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion who was born and raised in the Czech Republic, said in a phone interview: “When she’s on, she can play with anybody, as she’s shown with some of her Grand Slam results. She’s better than top 10, she’s top-five, and if she’s healthy, she should win a major, she’s that good.”

It’s hard to disagree. Muchová volleys, lobs, and can hit crazy trickshots, like one from behind her back against Katie Volynets at the U.S. Open last year. She overran a smash, but stuck a racket out and redirected a lob over her opponent.

Or the tweener lob winner against Clara Tauson at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, which won Muchová the WTA shot of the month.

At this year’s U.S. Open, Muchová came up with another early contender for shot of the tournament, chasing down a volley against Sorana Cîrstea and flicking a single-handed backhand winner crosscourt.

Hitting these kinds of shots is important to Muchová. “I’d like to have a shot that is unique,” she said in an interview at the Australian Open in January. “That would be cool.” But the thing that sets her apart is how she does everything else, too. She changes tempo like a jazz musician, mixing syncopated crackerjack groundstrokes with long rallies. Her movement is a study in finesse; her forehand in brutality.

But what Muchová really wants is to stay fit. The special talent whose body won’t play ball is a potent story, whatever the sport.

Muchová suffered regular minor injuries as a junior due to a late growth spurt and didn’t play between August 2021 and March 2022 because of a wrist injury. By then, she had already reached two Wimbledon quarterfinals and an Australian Open semifinal, taking out the then world No. 1 Barty on home turf. Her French Open final, which Świątek won 6-4 in the decider, came the following year. Muchová had beaten a rising Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, saving a match point down 5-2 in the final set. Her record against top-five players at majors is 5-1.

Those results, paired with her ability, have made the Czech something of a cult hero in the sport, a delight to watch and a what-if to discuss until the sun goes down. Muchová herself is stoic. After beating Marta Kostyuk to reach the quarterfinals on Monday, she said of her recent wrist surgery: “I mean, it was not my first injury, so been there and done that.”

This injury, though, was particularly brutal. It prevented her from hitting through her backhand, just like former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who reached the final here despite only hitting slices on his backhand in 2018. The pair exchanged messages last year.

At this year’s Wimbledon, Muchová could only hit slices. In an interview after losing in the first round to Wang Xinyu, she said: “I felt it’s not that difficult, but then when I need that shot, when someone approached the net and I need to play fast and I cannot, then I’m like, ‘S—, I need it now.’”

Muchová had also lost her voice, and despite her trying to remain upbeat, it was a very tough time for her and her team.

After only playing one match during the clay-court season, being able to play at all was a blessing. And with the pain in her wrist easing, she’s been able to hit double-handed backhands again during the American hard-court swing. Not always, and not always without pain, but she’s getting there.

Muchová has said throughout her run in New York that she needs to build her wrist back up slowly, but the length and drama of her matches have put it under maximum pressure. All four of her matches have been three-setters, the most recent three all lasting around three hours, and none of the players left in the draw have spent longer on court than her.


Karolína Muchová in full flight is one of the greatest sights in tennis. (Susan Mullane / Getty Images)

Muchová also had to deal with an ex-boyfriend, who she said “sometimes shows up at places where he shouldn’t”, being in her eyeline during the win over Cîrstea. A tearful Muchová was visibly upset, and later confirmed that he did eventually leave. She said she wasn’t thinking about it by her third-round match against Linda Nosková, which she won despite losing a first set she absolutely should have won.

Her period of rehabilitation has brought change in other fields. Muchová recently split with Emil Miske, who had coached her for five years in two spells. She then hired Vaclav Shafranek, a former player she met by chance playing padel at the club in Prague where they are both members. Muchová asked him what he was up to these days and things went from there, all the way to the quarterfinal against Osaka. After each long match, it has felt as if Muchová will not be able to keep up physically, but every time, she has done it. That factor tips things in Osaka’s favor in a matchup that suits Muchová otherwise, as demonstrated in her win over Osaka last year.

Whoever she plays, Muchová tries to bring variety. “It’s who I am and how I like to play, what fills me up on the court,” she said in a phone interview last year. “It’s just me. I wouldn’t like to play any other way — even though sometimes it’s too much.”

In January, she said she was serve-volleying and hitting drop shots as early as age 10. Not because she had watched videos of anyone doing it, but because it felt natural. As she got older, she watched more of Federer and loved what she saw.

“Roger was the inspiration. All of his shots. I really, really liked how he looked so elegant. So I tried to copy some of his shots for sure. I just like to have fun on the court.”

She even tried to serve like him, before her coaches said she’d have more power if she kept her legs together in a pinpoint stance rather than Federer’s platform one. At the U.S. Open last year, Muchová employed Federer’s chip and charge SABR (sneak attack by Roger) tactic to very good effect against Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round.

When Barty came along, Muchová had another idol: “I was really looking up to her. Her game was amazing, and it’s a shame she’s not playing. Her game, I think it’s very similar to mine — a lot of slices.” Barty retired at 25 in 2022, while she was still world No. 1.

Muchová’s volley game is another point of difference from the rest of the tour. The way she gets low and moves towards the ball is the move of someone who actually knows how to volley, rather than finding themselves at the net and hoping for the best. Miske used to show her clips of players such as Pat Rafter and Stefan Edberg volleying, as he felt she always learned best when watching something. His hope was that she would volley more in the future.

Miske, who described Muchová as a quick learner, saw almost instant evolution. “Most players need one or two weeks, or one month to improve, say, their forehand,” he said in a phone interview last year. “Karolina is two practice sessions and the timing, everything, is absolutely in shape.”

“She’s as good as Barty at the net if not better,” said Navratilova, one of the finest in the history of the sport. “I think her technique is better. Amazing technique and feel, and really good feel for when to move forward and attack. She has all the shots, so whatever strategy you give her, she can implement it. Most men and women don’t have that. A slice that most players would dream about and, of course, the touch, and can win from the baseline, from the net. She plays old school tennis.”

Miske added that Muchová has “four or five different variants of slice” and that “every practice there’s a shot where you go, ‘Wow.’” She would always work on developing her variety, and Miske hoped she would develop the Rafael Nadal-esque skyhook overhead.

Muchová showcased that shot and her full spectrum of ability at last year’s U.S. Open, never more so than in her semifinal against Jessica Pegula. She dismantled the American, leading by a set and a break with a point for another. On that point, she made yet another foray to the net, but missed a rare volley long. Pegula recovered, found her rhythm and took Muchová’s away from her.

She has suffered a few losses like that, and her tally of one WTA title — at the lowest level of the tour — is an underachievement for someone with her talent, even taking into account her injuries.

But in part thanks to those injuries, tennis is not everything to her. Muchová’s brother is a professional footballer, as was her dad, and as a goalkeeper, he would take out a young Karolína to take shots at him. She also played sports like handball, gymnastics, ice hockey and even ice skating, and attributes her athleticism to having a grounding in so many sports.

She is also a player with a hinterland, like music, which provides her with another creative outlet. She plays the acoustic guitar and has a good singing voice, as demonstrated by clips she’s posted of herself on social media.

While sidelined after wrist surgery last year, when for two months she was in a cast and initially couldn’t get out of bed or brush her teeth, she went to a lot of concerts and festivals — seeing English rock band Nothing But Thieves was a highlight. She’s also interested in fashion and enjoyed the photoshoots for the new Adidas Y-3 range this year. A couple of years ago, she did a photoshoot for Czech Vogue.

On Wednesday night, all that will matter is her quarterfinal against Osaka, a player she practiced with ahead of the tournament. Osaka is relieved to be playing her at this stage of the event rather than the second round like last year. “It’s funny, I was hitting with Muchová the other day and I was like, thank God I don’t have to play you in the first or the second round, and she was laughing about it, too,” she said last week.

Where this latest comeback will take Muchová is uncertain, but she is determined to enjoy it while it lasts.

(Top photo: Robert Prange / Getty Images)

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