Former world number two Vera Zvonareva has withdrawn from the 2013 Australian Open due to a shoulder injury.
The 28-year-old Russian, who had a difficult 2012 season where her ranking fell to 96, had missed last year’s French Open with the same shoulder complaint.
“I will not be able to go to Australia this year … my body is not 100 per cent recovered,” she wrote on Facebook.
Zvonareva also battled a viral illness last year which hampered her efforts to push for her first-ever major title.
The Russian is a two-time finalist, having lost the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open deciders to Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters respectively.