Australian Open tennis: Tunisia's Ons Jabeur withdraws from tournament

Ons Jabeur, 27, a quarter-finalist in 2020, was due to meet Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz in a later afternoon clash but was replaced by lucky loser Irina Bara of Romania.
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No official reason was given for Ons Jabeur pulling out but she retired hurt in Sydney last week [Jason McCawley/Getty]

Tunisian ninth seed Ons Jabeur pulled out of tennis' Australian Open before her first-round match on Monday after injuring herself last week at the Sydney Classic.

The 27-year-old, a quarter-finalist in 2020, was due to meet Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz in a later afternoon clash but was replaced by lucky loser Irina Bara of Romania.

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No official reason was given but Jabeur retired hurt in Sydney last week while playing world number seven Anett Kontaveit.

She called for a timeout after losing the first set and after lengthy treatment on her lower back, forfeited the match.

Missing the Australian Open is a big blow for a player who had a breakthrough 2021, when she won her maiden WTA singles title and surged into the top 10 for the first time.