World No.4 Karolina Pliskova will miss the 2022 Australian Open with a hand injury.
The 29-year-old, a semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2019, injured her ight-hand injury during a training session this week.
“Unfortunately I hurt my right hand in practice yesterday and I won’t be able to play in Adelaide, Sydney, and (the) Australian Open this year,” the former top-ranked Pliskova said on Twitter.
“I am sad not being able to start my season in Australia and I will miss my Australian fans very much.”
Tennis Australia officials confirmed her withdrawal and tweeted: “You will be missed… Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Pliskova is the latest in a line of high-profile players to have withdrawn from the first Slam of 2022.
Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu have both withdrawn from the event, which begins on January 17.
