Canada's Raonic to miss Australian Open for Achilles injury

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic will not play in the 2022 Australian Open (AO) for a heel injury on Saturday.

"Milos Raonic has withdrawn from the Australian Open as he continues his recovery from an Achilles injury," the Australian Open said on Twitter.

"Hope to see you back on court soon Milos Raonic," it added.

Raonic, 30, who is currently ranked 70th in men's singles, played a semifinal in the 2016 Australian Open, and reached the Wimbledon final in the same year, which is still his best Grand Slam performance.

Like Raonic, many tennis players in men's and women's will miss the 2022 Australian Open.

In women's singles, US veteran Serena Williams, Canadian Bianca Andreescu, Czech nationals Karolina Pliskova and Karolina Muchova, US player Jennifer Brady, and Russia's Natalia Vikhlyantseva each previously said they will skip next month's Australian Open for injury problems or various reasons.

Vikhlyantseva, 24, is ineligible to play in the 2022 AO for her vaccine choice.

She said she was vaccinated with Russian-made Sputnik V but Australia does not recognize it.

Meanwhile, in men's, Swiss veteran Roger Federer will not compete in the 2022 Australian Open for a knee injury.

The 2022 Australian Open, one of the four majors in tennis, will be held on Jan. 17-30 in Melbourne.