Leylah Fernandez has withdrawn from next week's Adelaide International tournament, where she was a second alternate for a main draw berth.
The second WTA 500 event of the new season will begin on January 8th and run until January 13th, a day before Melbourne's first Grand Slam tournament 2024 kicks off.
Fernandez, who was part of Canada's team that finished at the bottom of their group at the United Cup, is one of several high-profile names that have pulled out from Adelaide and will instead head to Melbourne to play the Australian Open.
No reason has been given for her absence although it is unlikely to do with any injury concern, considering that she played in three matches at the mixed-gender team competition this week (two in singles and one in mixed doubles).
She won two matches at the tournament, both coming in the victory over Chile in singles and mixed doubles. She lost to Greece's Maria Sakkari in her other singles bout, and Canada was eliminated.
Fernandez could not quite summon the same magic that took Canada to their maiden Billie Jean King Cup success at the back end of last season in Seville when she was virtually unplayable.
The 21-year-old was in tremendous form at the Finals last year, winning all five rubbers she played in, including a crucial doubles win over the experienced pair of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of Czechia.
She has been forthright about her struggles in 2023 before that late-season flourish earned her a spot in the world's Top 40, and she is inching closer to being one of the top 32 seeds at the 2024 Australian Open. Fernandez was later named Canada's Player of the Year.
The Adelaide International is packed with an unreal number of world-class players that even Fernandez missed out on a direct spot into the draw due to the lower cut-off entry.
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