Karolina Pliskova arrived at the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open ranked 197th in the world. It is a highly unusual ranking for a player who has previously held the world number one spot, claimed two WTA 1000 titles, reached Grand Slam finals and has 17 titles to her name. Her current status also does little to explain what she has just achieved in the Caja Magica, where she enjoyed a tremendous victory over Elise Mertens, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), to reach the last sixteen of the tournament.
Pliskova’s performance in Madrid is much more than just another victory. It’s an answer. Only a few months ago, the Czech admitted that retirement was something she was seriously considering if she couldn’t minimise the pain. This particular demon was becoming increasingly real. The goal was to be able to play pain free, to finish matches, and not to push herself too hard after a long physical ordeal. Ankle problems kept the Czech out for a year, between the 2024 US Open and autumn 2025, and during that period she also suffered from pain in her back and arm. She had begun to question whether it was all worth the effort.
This Sunday in Madrid, she got her answer, and it was an overwhelmingly positive one. Pliskova defeated Mertens in an extremely demanding match. The Czech took the first set, lost the second easily, and had to survive a pressure situation in the third. Mertens had a chance to break at 0-40 that would have earned her a serve at 5-1. Three points that could have all but sealed the match. Pliskova, however, dug deep and managed to turn the tide.
Her campaign in Madrid now includes three wins, something she had not achieved in the past ten months. In the first round, she overcame Sinja Kraus, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 having trailed early on. In the second, she defeated Maria Sakkari, seeded 33rd, 6-4, 7-6. This Sunday, she took another step forward in her fifth clash with Mertens.
The match reaffirms Pliskova’s good form on her return to clay. With this result, the Czech improves her record on the surface to 5-1 this season and reaches the last sixteen in Madrid from a very different position to that which she enjoyed in her pomp. A semi-finalist in the Caja Magica in 2018, when she lost to Petra Kvitova, Pliskova is once again among the tournament’s best sixteen players as she pushes through a period of reconstruction. Slowly but surely, it seems her ordeal is coming to an end. Pliskova is tackling tennis head-on and is eager to keep fighting. She can certainly forget her fear of retirement.