Karolína Plíšková is making a comeback, and the tennis world's former No. 1-ranked woman is at the Australian Open and doing it the hard way.
Plíšková is coming off surgery on her left ankle following an injury, played only three matches last year after much longer than expected recovery, and now she's preparing for a third-round match against defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
She defeated another American, 2017 U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens, in the first round. Then she got by 23-year-old Indonesian Janice Tjen 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday to set up the match with Keys.
“It wasn't easy,” Plíšková said of the victory playing an opponent she had not faced before.
Now comes the defending champion.
“I mean, looking forward to that,” said Plíšková, who is into the third round of a major for the first time since the 2023 Australian Open. She recalled facing Keys a few years ago at a smaller tournament in Australia.
“So of course, a lot of things have changed,” she said. “She won the Australian Open here last year. I was away for some time.”
Plíšková was the world's No. 1 ranked player in 2017, and was the losing finalist at Wimbledon in 2021 and at the U.S. Open in 2016. She also reached two other Grand Slam semifinals — the French Open in 2017 and Australia in 2019.
Surgery following the 2024 U.S. Open has slowed her career. Now it's about rebuilding confidence and getting competition. Her ranking plummetted to 1,057 because of all the missed tournaments, and she's competing at Melbourne Park on a protected ranking.
“After such a long injury, you just hope to have some matches,” she said. “Sometimes you just don't know. You can come to a big tournament and you can have one of the top seeds in the first round.”
“It helped,” she added, “that I didn't have any of that. ... I think matches always help, just the confidence of playing matches and making the decisions."
The resume is there. But now her tennis must be ready for Keys, who defeated fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 7-5 on Thursday.
“I will face the top seed now,” Plíšková said, “but that's just like any third round. There is nobody really easy. ... She's going to be the favorite here. So I can only surprise, but let's see. I have my weapons and I think it can be a good match."
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic plays a forehand return to Janice Tjen of Indonesia during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Karolina Pliskova of of the Czech Republic plays a backhand return to Janice Tjen of Indonesia during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic reacts after winning her second round match against Janice Tjen of Indonesia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Campaigning began Thursday for Bangladesh’s first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The major political parties held campaign rallies in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere ahead of Feb. 12 election, which is seen as the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history as it follows Hasina's ouster and is being held under an interim government with voters also deciding on proposed political reforms.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election, but questions were raised after his administration banned Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party. The Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party have historically dominated the country’s electorate.
There are also concerns about the country's law and order situation, but the government says they will keep the voting peaceful.
Yunus assumed office three days after Hasina left the country for India on Aug. 5, 2024, following the deaths of hundreds of protesters and others in a violent crackdown.
With the Awami League excluded from the election, a 10-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist party, is seeking to expand its influence. Jamaat-e-Islami has long faced criticism from secular groups who say its positions challenge Bangladesh’s secular foundations. A new party formed by student leaders of the uprising, the National Citizen Party, or NCP, is also part of the alliance.
Tarique Rahman, BNP chairman and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for prime minister. His party has drawn strong support rooted in the political legacy of his mother, who died last month. Rahman returned to Bangladesh last month after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Rahman is launching his campaign in the northwestern city of Sylhet with an address to a rally later Thursday and is scheduled to visit several other districts in the coming days.
Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP are set to begin their campaigns in the capital, Dhaka.
The election will also include a referendum on a national charter, with the interim government seeking campaigning for voters to support what it describes as a new political course built on reforms. The charter was signed last year by 25 of the country’s 52 registered political parties. The Awami League opposed the idea and several other parties declined to sign the document.
The July National Charter, named after the uprising that began in July 2024 and led to the fall of Hasina, is currently nonbinding, but the supporters of the charter say a referendum is needed to make it legally binding and a part of the constitution. Only Parliament can change the constitution in Bangladesh.
The interim government says the charter would bring more checks and balances to avoid authoritarian administrations, including by giving the presidency more authority to balance what had been a powerful prime minister position. It also proposes term limits for legislators, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest, money laundering and corruption.
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Supporters of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party hold a campaign rally ahead of next month's national elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, center, looks at an exhibit during the inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, second right, with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, second left, watch an audio visual during the inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, center, with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, center left, looks at an exhibit during the inauguration of the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Head of Bangladesh's interim government Muhammad Yunus, center, with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, inaugurate the July Uprising Memorial Museum, once the official residence of Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
