Milos Raonic pulls out of Australian Open with heel injury

Canadian player will be unable to participate in the Australian Open as he "continues his recovery from an Achilles injury," the tournament organisers say.

Raonic's best performance was in 2016, when he played a semifinal in the Australian Open and reached the Wimbledon final.
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Raonic's best performance was in 2016, when he played a semifinal in the Australian Open and reached the Wimbledon final.

Canadian Milos Raonic has pulled out of next month's Australian Open as the former world number three continues his recovery from a heel injury.

"Milos Raonic has withdrawn from the #AusOpen as he continues his recovery from an Achilles injury," the organisers of the Grand Slam said on Twitter on Saturday.

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

Raonic had suffered a thigh injury in March and returned to the tour after a three-month gap.

But his 2021 season was cut short due to another heel issue following his first-round loss at the Atlanta Open in July.

Raonic had reached a career-high world ranking of third in 2016 - the year he reached the finals at Wimbledon and made a run to the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.

This is still the best Grand Slam performance of the tennis player, who turns 31 on Monday.

The Canadian, who has currently slipped to 70th, is the latest to be ruled out of the Australian Open.

Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Jennifer Brady, Karolina Pliskova, Karolina Muchova, Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu also ruled out with injuries.

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

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