After relearning to walk, Pliskova is back in form on her beloved grass

LONDON -- When Karolina Pliskova saw Victoria Mboko slip on the grass and cry out in pain during their second-round match at the HSBC Championships, she immediately knew what the 19-year-old was going through.

"I was in a pretty much similar situation," the former World No. 1 said in her press conference after Mboko was forced to retire. "I felt really bad for her, because obviously you still don't know what is it, but if she felt something that moved in the knee, then I think something for sure happened."

Two years ago, Pliskova pulled up injured just three points into her second-round match against Jasmine Paolini at the 2024 US Open. She had been dealing with some discomfort in her leg, but medical exams revealed nothing serious. Pliskova takes pride in her ability to play through pain and says she would never retire from a match unless "something is really bad." This time, it was.

Sitting in the Queen's Club players' lounge this week, Pliskova grimaces as she recalls the moment that sidelined her for a year.

"I knew there was probably something broken," she said. "I didn't know what exactly, because afterwards I could still walk a little bit. But it was pretty bad."

It turned out to be far worse than anyone initially realized. All the ligaments and both tendons in Pliskova's left ankle had ruptured. "Only the bones were holding it together," she said last year. Surgery followed, and then a second procedure six months later to treat an infection. She ultimately had to relearn how to walk.

"I had the surgery pretty fast, but the surgery was pretty big," she said. "They had to open my leg. It wasn't arthroscopy. I was in the boot without walking, without even touching the ground. Once it got a bit better, I was still in pain. And for another two months, I basically couldn't walk.

"You forget how to walk, you lose all the muscles, all the mobility. And the ankle is difficult because all your body is on it. You have to start using it again slowly."

In light of that, Pliskova's comeback form this year has been astonishing. Now 34, she's compiled a 16-7 record, reaching quarterfinals in Linz, Madrid and now Queen's. Ranked No. 1,054 at the start of the season, she's now guaranteed to return to the Top 100 next week. While Pliskova never considered quitting the sport -- the layoff only made her determined that the injury wouldn't finish her career -- reaching these heights again was unexpected.

"If you cannot walk in this situation, you don't think about playing tennis," she said. "I was for sure that I would, just to get to some level, but my goal was to get better. To eventually go for a run, or play padel. It wasn't really my main goal to come back and be Top 100. This wasn't on my mind for most of the days. But slowly I was having that goal to play at least some matches once more."

There have been false starts to contend with. Pliskova first attempted to return last September in two WTA 125 events, winning one match and losing two, but felt she was neither physically nor mentally ready for a full comeback. She intended to get it off the ground in Brisbane -- one of her favorite stops on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, where she's lifted the trophy three times -- but a minor issue in her other leg forced her to pull out, and to go into the Australian Open with no match practice.

"I drew a qualifier," Pliskova recalled. "I'm like, OK, that's not bad for a start. You don't want Sabalenka for the first round. But then I'm thinking, OK, who is in the qualies? And then I see Sloane [Stephens]. I'm like, no. F*ck. The only one who I don't want is Sloane."

Stephens, who had defeated Pliskova in six of their prior seven meetings, duly qualified and landed in the main draw as Pliskova's first opponent. The matchup she'd been dreading turned out to be her most important boost.

"I was thinking on fast courts, it could be different," she said. "I didn't know how my level is. But I started well, and I was actually playing well that match. So it was a very important step, because I think it could change all of it -- all my feelings about my comeback and everything. Just to get that first victory meant a lot. It gave me the hope and the joy and everything to just compete again."

That hope and joy carried Pliskova through a strong clay season. Her only goal had been to compete in Madrid, where her twin sister Kristyna now lives with her family. Instead, she exceeded expectations, notching wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, Maria Sakkari and Elise Mertens, then saving three match points to defeat Jaqueline Cristian.

Now, asked whether she can be a dark horse for the Wimbledon title -- Pliskova has already been runner-up at SW19, to Ashleigh Barty in 2021 -- Pliskova initially demurs, before embracing the role.

"Yes!" she said with a laugh in her press conference following the Mboko match. "No, I mean, of course. Depending on the draw -- you can have some ugly players [to face] on grass. I feel like if I can pass first round, second round, then I can be dangerous. Of course you always need that confidence, but you need matches, which now I have a lot of matches."

There could be even more matches to get under her belt this week at Queen's. Pliskova is scheduled to face either compatriot Marie Bouzkova or lucky loser Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals. A win would move her into her first semifinal since Nottingham 2024.