Ons Jabeur withdraws from Australian Open 2022 with a back injury, replaced by lucky loser Irina Bara

Ninth seed Ons Jabeur has announced that she is withdrawing from the 2022 Australian Open due to a back injury. The Tunisian was scheduled to kick off her campaign at the tournament on Day 1 (January 17), and was replaced by lucky loser Irina Bara at the last moment on the 1573 Arena.

Ons Jabeur played at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic in the lead-up to the Australian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. The World No. 10 pulled out of the last-eight match against Anett Kontaveit in the second set with the same back injury.

Jabeur took to social media to reveal that she tried her best to get back into fitness before her first-round match against World No. 64 Nuria Parrizas Diaz. But unfortunately, the pain did not subside in time.

The 27-year-old wrote that she did not want to jeopardize the rest of her season by rushing the recovery process, which prompted her to make the difficult decision of skipping the Melbourne Grand Slam. Jabeur thanked her fans for their support and promised to be back in action as soon as possible.

World No. 81 Saisai Zheng also pulled out of the 2022 Australian Open due to a wrist injury. Like Jabeur, the Chinese was also scheduled to play on the tournament's first day. Lucky loser Nao Hibino has replaced her, and will take on qualifier Martina Trevison in the first round.

Ons Jabeur was in line to meet Maria Sakkari in the fourth round

Ons Jabeur was the favorite to meet Maria Sakkari in the fourth round for a place in the quarterfinals

Ons Jabeur was one of the top-seeds in the first quarter of the women's draw, alongside World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, World No. 8 Maria Sakkari and World No. 14 Naomi Osaka. She would have possibly faced Sakkari in the fourth round and either Barty or Osaka in the quarterfinals had she made it that far.

Jabeur's exit increases the chances of Jessica Pegula to make a deep run at the Australian Open. The 21st seed had a breakthrough season in 2021. She reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last year. She could have encountered Jabeur in the third round. If they both progress, the American could square off against Sakkari for a place in the final eight.