One of the biggest names in women's technical skiing is coming back. Petra Vlhová will start the women's giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden on October 24. It will be the 31-year-old Slovak's first World Cup race since her crash at her home event in Jasná in January 2024. Slovak outlet Sportnet broke the news on Friday, and Swiss and French media picked it up on Saturday.
Two surgeries and a slow road back
Vlhová tore the cruciate ligament in her right knee during the Jasná giant slalom on January 20, 2024. She had surgery on February 5 that year at the Hôpital du Valais in Switzerland. When her recovery stalled, she needed a second operation in March 2025. She missed the entire 2024-25 season and only got final medical clearance for full training in January 2026.
She has raced since the injury, but not on the World Cup circuit. At the Milan Cortina Olympics in February she entered the team combined and the slalom. She did not finish the combined and placed 20th in the slalom. Her absence from the World Cup now stretches to almost three years.
Vlhová has been candid about the mental toll of her rehab. She reportedly said she looked happy on the outside but was "broken into tiny pieces" inside. Her knee no longer hurts, but it still gives her trouble. "Sometimes my knee tells me it's had enough," French media quoted her as saying. She added that her performance is coming back gradually and that she needs to be patient.
A new coach and a new outlook
Vlhová has also rebuilt her team. Since the spring, Austrian Mario Rafetzeder has led her coaching staff. He previously worked with the British and Finnish national teams. He replaces Swiss coach Mauro Pini, whose four-year partnership with Vlhová ended in March 2025. She was back on snow in Austria in May, then went to a camp in Italy, did a block of strength work and spent several weeks training in Argentina.
Her life off the slopes has changed too, including a move from Liptovský Mikuláš to Bratislava. She told Sportnet she sees the comeback "as a new beginning." "Compared to before my injury, I'm a completely different person," she told Blick. She said she used to take wins and podiums for granted and now enjoys the whole journey. She is not setting results targets, though she says she is still as competitive as ever.
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Her schedule is limited to the technical events. Vlhová plans to race every slalom and giant slalom and says she will take it "step by step" and respect her body. She currently feels stronger in giant slalom and says her slalom technique still needs work.
Her record shows why the comeback matters. She has won 31 World Cup races: 22 slaloms, six giant slaloms and three others. In 2021 she became the first Slovak to win the overall title. She is also the 2019 world giant slalom champion from Åre and won Olympic slalom gold in Beijing in 2022. For years, her battles with Mikaela Shiffrin for slalom wins and crystal globes were a defining rivalry in women's skiing.
Two dates after Sölden stand out. On January 23-24, 2027, the World Cup stops in Jasná, the hill where her long layoff began. The World Championships in Crans-Montana follow in early February. The giant slalom in Sölden will be the first real test of where Vlhová stands after nearly three years away from the World Cup.
