Vasek Pospisil plays against Rafael Nadal in a second-round match on day three of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Canada’s Vasek Pospisil has dropped out of the Australian Open because of a back injury.
The native of Vernon, B.C., ranked 70th in the world, hasn’t played since October.
“Very sad to have to withdraw from the @AustralianOpen today,” the 28-year-old Pospisil tweeted. “Unfortunately I have yet to fully recover from the back injury I sustained in October. Hope to be back soon.”
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., are the two remaining Canadians in the main men’s singles draw for the Australian Open.
The first Grand Slam of the season is set to begin Jan. 14.