Karolina Pliskova will be competing in the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane next week, returning to the tour after around 16 months.
by Daniel Hofmann
last edited: December 31, 2025, 12:10 a.m
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Things were quiet for Karolina Pliskova in 2025. The reason for this was ongoing injury problems that made surgery unavoidable. The Czech has now announced her comeback for 2026 and hopes for an end to a long period of suffering. “I had pain everywhere,” says the former world number one, summing up the time.
“There were moments when I thought I would never come back,” said Karolina Pliskova, who had surgery on her left ankle after the 2024 US Open, in an interview. But there should be no quick improvement afterwards. Instead, another intervention was necessary in May of this year. The 33-year-old played two WTA Challengers in September and October, but her body went on strike again.
Pliskova makes comeback in Brisbane
But now the long period of suffering for Karolina Pliskova seems to be over. With her protected ranking, the 17-time title holder on the WTA Tour reported for the 500 event at the start of the season in Brisbane after careful consideration: “I started training slowly and then decided to start again at the beginning of the year”.
For Pliskova, the first round match in Australia would be the first duel on the WTA Tour in 16 months. However, despite good performances, other players are likely to be considered favorites at the Australian Open. But who knows?
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