Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The bacterial infection which landed Lucie Safarova in a Prague hospital for a week in the autumn may be responsible for the Czech’s sudden pullout from the January 3 start of the Hopman Cup teams event in Perth, The Roland Garros finalist and WTA No. 9 made the announcement on her Facebook page:

“Unfortunately my health complications over the past few months are continuing and although I did all I could to be ready for the new season I’m not yet 100 per cent and I had to cancel my participation in the Hopman Cup at this point.

“I will be replaced by Kaja [Karolina] Pliskova and I will cheer for the Czech team! I continue my focus on recovery and training so I can still start my season in Australia!”

Safarova suffered an abdominal injury prior to the US Open and was later hospitalized for the bacterial infection. She was forced to miss the US Open, the Asian autumn tournament series and the Fed Cup final victory over Russia.

Pliskova, world No. 11, owns four career titles, including Prague in 2015

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.