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Ana Ivanovic’s Australian Open campaign is in doubt after suffering a stomach strain while playing at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
Ivanovic sustained the injury during her straight sets loss to Justine Henin on Thursday, with a scan on Friday afternoon revealing the extent of the damage.
Serbia’s pairing of Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic had qualified for Saturday’s final after winning all three of their group ties.
But under tournament rules, a player can only be replaced during the group stage, meaning Serbia’s place in the final will now be taken by Belgium, who finished second in group A.
Ivanovic, who tried to train on Friday morning before realising the extent of the injury, was said to be upset at having to pull out of the final.
It is not known whether the injury will affect her Australian Open participation, or her involvement in Sydney’s Medibank International from January 10-15.
The 23-year-old’s injury capped an eventful day at the Hopman Cup, which saw world No.7 Francesca Schiavone retire from her singles encounter against France’s Kristina Mladenovic due to a groin injury.
Schiavone sought medical treatment while leading 2-1 and played on for five more games before retiring hurt with the scores locked at 4-4 in the first set, giving France a 1-0 lead in the tie.
Nicolas Mahut secured the tie win for France with a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) win over Potito Starace in the men’s singles rubber.
But the US are still in the box seat to qualify from group B for the final, needing to win just one rubber in their tie against Great Britain.
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