Tsonga Withdraws from Australian Open

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga joins Roger Federer in missing Melbourne.The 2008 Australian Open finalist announced his withdrawal from the 2021 AO as he continues his recovery from a back injury.More: Federer Out of Australian OpenOngoing back issues limited Tsonga to two matches in 2020.Tennis ExpressThe former world No. 5 retired from his 2020 Australian Open opener against Alexei Popyrin due to back problems.

"Despite great progress in recent months, I am still not able to play in competition," Tsonga tweeted. "In agreement with the medical team, the Australian Open is therefore compromised this year."I am looking forward to getting back on a tennis court, but I have to be patient…even if not going to Australia this year is a heartbreaker."The 2021 Australian Open is set for February 8th-21st.Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
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Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.