Aussie No. 1 Alex De Minaur withdraws from Australian Open with abdominal injury

Australian youngster Alex DeMinaur has withdrawn from the inaugural grand slam of the year, the Australian Open. The announcement was made by the tournament organizers on Thursday.

READ: Former Champion Kerber Suffers Australian Open Injury Setback

De Minaur withdraws

The announcement said that De Minaur is suffering from an abdominal injury. De Minaur was last spotted playing for his country in the ATP Cup last week, where they were knocked out in the semifinals by Spain. He played the second singles' semifinals against Rafael Nadal and although he won the first set, he was not able to capitalize and lost the match after the Spaniard made a comeback. 

Earlier, De Minaur had withdrawn from the Adelaide International tournament for the same reasons. At the time, he posted on his social media accounts that he hoped that he would be able to recover in time for the Grand slam. However, that has not been the case. 

De Minaur is the latest name in a growing list of players who have had to withdraw from the tournament. He is the fourth player who have withdrawn; Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray, and Richard Gasquet have also announced their withdrawals from the tournament.

READ: Simona Halep Beaten By Sabalenka In Adelaide Quarterfinals

Del Potro and Gasquet are suffering from a knee injury whereas Murray has suffered a lapse in the recovery from hip surgery. In December, Murray stated suffered a setback in the recovery process from a hip injury. In a statement, he said, "Unfortunately, I’ve had a setback recently and, as a precaution, need to work through that before I get back on the court, competing."

On Wednesday, it was announced that Angelique Kerber had developed back pain and was thus forced to withdraw from the Adelaide Open. She is doubtful for the Australian Open.

The Australian Open begins on January 20 and will go on till February 2. 

READ: Richard Gasquet Withdraws From Australian Open Citing Knee Injury

READ: Juan Martin Del Potro Pulls Out Of Australian Open After Failing To Recover From Injury