Former finalist at Melbourne Park and US Open winner Dominic Thiem has announced he won't be competing at next month's Australian Open.
The Austrian former world number three hasn't played since injuring his wrist at the Mallorca Open in June.
Thiem took to social media on Tuesday to tell fans, despite being sufficiently recovered from the injury, he will be kicking off his 2022 campaign in Argentina after the first major of the year.
"I am now feeling well again, my wrist is in optimal conditions and I am practicing normally with a very good intensity," Thiem wrote on Twitter.
"After the short holidays, my team and I have assessed all matters and we have decided to make some changes to my initial tournament schedule: I will start the season in South America at the Cordoba Open in Argentina, end of January, and therefore I will not play this year at the Australian Open in Melbourne, a city that I love and where I have great memories of unforgettable matches in front of amazing crowds. I will miss the Australian fans but I will be back in 2023.
"We believe this is the right decision in order to have a good return to competition. For the moment I will remain in Austria for a few more days and then head to practice outdoors and get ready for my first event of the season."
Aussie fans will be disappointed to hear the news - the smooth-moving Thiem had endeared himself to the locals with some eye-catching performances over the years.
Having lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2020 edition, Thiem this year overcame a two-set deficit to defeat Nick Kyrgios in the third-round.
A host of big-name players have already confirmed they won't be heading down under for the 2022 Australian Open.
Among the men, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Jeremy Chardy and Kyle Edmund are all confirmed as out, while questions remain over Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori's participation.
It's even more drastic on the women's draw, with three of the four semi-finalists from 2021 - Jennifer Brady, Karolina Muchova and Serena Williams - unavailable, as well as world No.4 Karolina Pliskova and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.
There could yet be more withdrawals amid the developing COVID-19 situation in the country, while Australia's vaccine and travel restrictions may also play a part.