Thanasi Kokkinakis has withdrawn from the Adelaide International after suffering a shoulder injury during his first round win over American Sebastian Korda.
He was set to take on Monaco's Valentin Vacherot on Wednesday night, but the latter has been given a walkover to the next round.
Despite winning the match on Monday, the Aussie was clearly in pain throughout and was aware in the aftermath he had done some damage.
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It was his first singles match on tour in over 12 months as he has battled constant injury issues to his shoulder and pectoral muscle.
Kokkinakis is set to partner with Nick Kyrgios in the doubles at this year's Australian Open, pending the severity of this injury.
He also has a spot in the main draw of the singles, thanks to a protected ranking.
His withdrawal means 2025 Shanghai Masters champion Vacherot advances to the next round in Adelaide. The match was only a few hours away from starting.
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Kokkinakis clearly knew something was wrong following his win over Korda, saying as much in his post-match interview.
"There was a lot of times [in the match] I thought about stopping, and am I going to do more damage if I keep playing?" he said.
"But it's really hard to stop. Maybe for the sake of my body, it was smarter if I stop.
"But playing your home tournament, the only title I have won in singles, it makes it really hard to just be like, 'yeah, I think I'll stop here.'"
Kokkinakis won the Adelaide International in 2022, his maiden ATP Tour singles title.
The Australian Open gets underway on Sunday, which doesn't leave him much time to get through this injury setback.
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