Shortly before the Oberhof sprint in January 2010, Neuner injured her back during warm-up and had to withdraw. She returned in Ruhpolding where she came in third in both the sprint and the mass start race. In her first relay of the season, she dealt a blow to the German team by incurring two penalty loops, with Germany finishing fourth eventually. With some top competitors missing in Antholz at the last World Cup before the 2010 Winter Olympics, Neuner won two events—the first individual race of her career as well as the sprint, giving her 16 career World Cup wins. She also came in second in the pursuit, which marked her seventh consecutive podium finish.