Given that Karolina Pliskova was ranked No.1057 at this year’s Australian Open, we can safely say that the former World No.1 is on the rise.
Now ranked No.67 just five months later, the 34-year-old is showing just how lethal she can be when she is feeling fit. Pliskova, fully recovered from a severe left ankle injury and complications from the surgery that came after, has hit the ground running in 2026, winning 17 of 24 matches, including her 6-4, 7-6(3) win over American Caty McNally on Thursday to reach the last eight in Nottingham.
“I live from day to day,” Pliskova said when asked of her goals for the rest of the season. “My goal was to get to the top 100 this year, which I already achieved.
“At the moment, I just want to play and win as much as possible.”
Pliskova improves to 11-1 lifetime in Nottingham with a title (2016) and a runner-up performance under her belt (2022).
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist is now 55-30 lifetime on grass.
She led McNally 5-1 in the first and 4-1 in the second but had trouble closing it out as the American pushed back late.
“It’s the grass, of course, I like these tournaments,” the former Wimbledon runner-up said. “I always choose to play all the tournaments in England. I think that’s the best preparation for Wimbledon.”
The Czech will face Australia’s Talia Gibson in the quarterfinals. Gibson took out Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 7-6(10) to reach her first tour-level quarterfinal on grass.
Fourth-seeded Maria Bouzkova will take on Tatjana Maria in the other top half quarterfinal, while third-seeded Emma Navarro faces Jessica Bouzas Manero and fifth-seeded Ann Li takes on Viktorija Golubic in the lower half.