Kei Nishikori's hobbled hip has forced him to step out of the Australian Open.
The 47th-ranked Japanese announced his withdrawal from the Melbourne major on social media.
"Since the end of last year I have been struggling with my hip," Nishikori posted on Twitter. "It is not 100% recovered yet and I will have to pull out of the Aussie swing.
"This is very disappointing as the Australian Open feels like my "home" Grand Slam... And can't wait to be back next year... I am working hard on my recovery and will do everything I can to be back on court soon."
Former US Open finalist Nishikori has not played since losing to Daniel Evans at Indian Wells last October.
The 32-year-old Nishikori joins 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, 2014 AO champion Stan Wawrinka, 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Tennys Sandgren among the men who have withdrawn from the season's first Grand Slam.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic's lawyers are currently appealing his visa application, which was denied when he arrived in Melbourne on Thursday.
The Australian Open starts on January 17th.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve