At the US Open this time last year, Karolina Muchova made an inspiring run to the semifinals.
Devastatingly, it was the last tournament she would play for the next nine months after injury, yet again, derailed her thrilling momentum.
She's regained it this week in New York, outplaying Katie Volynets, Naomi Osaka and Anastasia Potapova to return to the second week of a Slam.
The well-rounded Czech had been flying until that point last year, coming within a few games of her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros then reaching the Cincinnati final.
Her subsequent run to the semifinals in New York boosted her to a career-high ranking of world No.8.
But it was there she injured her wrist – the latest physical setback to curtail her progress over the years – and she ultimately required surgery.
Aside from her sparkling 2023 season, you have to go all the way back to 2019 to find a year in which Muchova has played more than 30 matches, a tally far lower than what top players would expect to contest. In the past five seasons she has averaged just 26 matches per year.
To her credit, Muchova doesn’t muck around whenever she is finally healthy enough to resume competing.
In her tour return at Eastbourne in June, she reached the quarterfinals. In just her third tournament back, she was a finalist in Palermo. And now, she’s into the fourth round of the US Open without losing a set.
Eastbourne is on grass, Palermo on clay and the US Open on hard courts, further proof of the completeness and effectiveness of her all-court game – and how much we’ve missed it.
“At the start of the tournament? Zero thoughts about [going far], honestly. I didn't know what to expect from myself,” said Muchova, who at the US Open is playing just her sixth event of the season.
“I didn't play much this year, so I was just trying to be focused on the first match. That's usually the trickiest one. Really, really grateful and happy that I made it now to the fourth round.
“I feel better each match actually, so it's nice to get some matches under my belt. I'm, again, happy that I will have a chance to play another match here.
“[My] driving force... well, it's pretty easy. I love tennis. I love to play. It's easy for me to be motivated. And to playing on these big events, it's just why I play tennis and what I play for.
“I think with each match personally it's giving me more confidence. So each match you win or you learn, that's for sure has something to do that I have a bigger belief in myself.”
Muchova’s three wins this week have set up a last-16 clash with Jasmine Paolini, the rising Italian star who was a finalist at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.
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With Paolini’s bouncy energy and pocket-rocket power coming up against Muchova’s stylish, all-court attack, it’s among the most highly-anticipated matches so far of the women’s tournament.
During her exceptional second-round win over Osaka, Muchova’s skills in the forecourt prompted commentator Lindsay Davenport to reference Ash Barty.
She also earned a fan in Nick Kyrgios, who conducted the on-court interview with Muchova at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “You hit some incredible volleys tonight. It was insane to watch,” he told her.
Osaka, too, was impressed. “She's very athletic. She has a lot of variety,” said the former world No.1, a four-time major winner.
“I enjoy watching her play and also playing her even though sometimes it doesn't go my way. I think she's a great player.”
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This US Open marks the seventh time Muchova has progressed to the second week of a major.
She has already completed her Grand Slam quarterfinal set, and has gone on to the semis at both the Australian and US Opens, as well as the final at Roland Garros.
The 28-year-old revealed she gets up for the big matches and tournaments, and nowhere does she enjoy the buzz more than in New York, where she has now won more matches than at any other Slam.
This, plus the fact she’s competing with a renewed sense of gratitude after her latest setback, makes her an incredibly dangerous proposition at Flushing Meadows.
“I had the surgery, and I didn't know if I will play or not. I'm just really grateful honestly that I'm here, that I can play, that I'm pain-free, and that I have a chance to play these matches,” she said.
“Then the energy and the big court and all that, it for sure helps me.
“I really love New York City. I like the courts. They're fast, so I like that as well. This was my first tournament actually where I qualified for a Grand Slam, so I have nice memories.
“I just like the vibe of it. You know, it's noisy. It's crowded. It's just New York. I really like it.”