Health has forced Eva Lys to withdraw from a tournament once again. This time, it is from the WTA 250 in Prague, which was scheduled to start tomorrow. The German player announced her withdrawal to her fans and did not hide how draining the timing felt, having already been sidelined through the previous fortnight before the latest setback arrived. 

“Really sad to have to withdraw from this week’s tournament in Prague due to health reasons,” Lys wrote. “Having to pull out at the last minute, especially after already missing the last two weeks, is incredibly frustrating. It’s been a tough start to the year, but I’m trusting that better days are ahead. Thank you for all the nice messages. You guys are the ones carrying me through all of it.”

She was scheduled to take on fifth seed Tereza Valentova, who had to be replaced by an Australian player, Priscilla Hon, due to the withdrawal. This follows a very difficult year for the 24-year-old. Lys had a career-high rank of world No. 39 in January, but her season has been disrupted since then. This was due to a knee injury she picked up at the Australian Open, which kept her out for two months and caused her to pull out of Indian Wells too.

Her season record stands at five wins and 12 losses, and with the continued absence, her ranking has slid back to No. 86. She was in action at the 2026 Wimbledon, where she lost in the first round to Diana Shnaider. Last year as well, she had to withdraw from Prague before the main draw kicked off, and the story continues. 

Lys has been candid about dealing with a condition throughout her career, and it is at the core of much of the struggle. In 2020, she was diagnosed with spondylarthritis, or inflammatory arthritis, which results in chronic inflammation and stiffness in the joints and back. The German has previously said it takes her much longer to recover from illness or injury than it does for most players. 

Talking about her knee condition earlier this year, she said it adds extra layers of challenge to planning her season. “So we all know that for me, due to my body, it always takes a little bit longer to really find my match physique,” she said at the time.

A career defined by overcoming physical setbacks has taught Eva Lys to be flexible with her schedule, and has asked her fans to be the same. For the time being, Prague is on the list of tournaments that she has had to miss this year. The 24-year-old will be aiming to make a comeback at the start of next month for the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, Canada.