Ajla Tomljanovic has suffered yet another crushing blow, ruled out of tennis for several months after undergoing knee surgery.
Already cruelly sitting out her home grand slam after withdrawing two days before the Australian Open started, Tomljanovic took to social media on Saturday to reveal her latest update.
"This morning I had a minor procedure done on my knee that went very well. Sadly I won't be around for the next few months," the Aussie women's No.1 posted.
"But I'm happy I did the necessary steps to get healthy. Great things take time and rehab starts very soon. I can't wait to get back out there.
"Appreciate all your sweet messages and words of support, doesn't go unnoticed."
Tomljanovic's untimely injury setback came after the 29-year-old enjoyed her finest grand slam season in 2022.
She reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second straight year before backing up to also make the last eight at the US Open in September.
Tomljanovic famously end Serena Williams' decorated career in New York, en route to becoming the first Australian woman since former world No.1 Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1979 to reach the quarter-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open in a calendar year.
Tomljanovic had been in line to nab a grand slam seeding for the first time at Melbourne Park, before the knee issue forced her out of the season-opening United Cup.
Also instrumental in Australia's run to the Billie Jean King Cup final, Tomljanovic dropped two spots in the rankings after being sidelined from the new mixed teams' event.
Her absence robbed her of an Open seeding before she opted to pull the pin before a scheduled first-round clash with Argentine Nadia Podoroska.
