South Africa’s highest world ranked tennis player, Kevin Anderson has withdrawn from this year’s Australian Open.

The 67th ranked Anderson made the announcement via his official Twitter handle from his American home base in Delray Beach this week, revealing that his injury requires some extra recovery time, and he will miss the first grand slam event of the year as a result.

“Unfortunately I’ve just made the very tough decision to withdraw from the Australian Open this year. I am really sad to miss one of my very favorite events each season,” the South African tweeted.

“I am still recovering from an injury sustained last year, but things are looking much better and I will be back in competitive soon. I hope all the players and fans enjoy the tennis down under this year. Thanks for all your support,” the serve-specialist added.

Anderson is still recovering from a hip injury that his his year hard, but he remains positive that he will make a much anticipated comeback soon after the Australian Open.

Last year, injury plagued Anderson who saw his ranking slip from 10 to 67 due to inactivity on the ATP circuit while recovering.

Injuries to his ankle, shoulder and hip side-lined Anderson during 2016, after reaching the ATP Tour’s top 10 for a brief period towards the end of 2015.

He reached his first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final at Flushing Meadows in the same year, defeating third seed Andy Murray in the fourth round to reach the last eight stage at the US Open.

The last competitive game Anderson played was in Austria in October last year where he lost in the opening round of the Vienna Open.

The Australian Open has been a good tournament for Anderson over the years, where he reached the fourth round three years in a row between 2013 and 2015, and as his message to fans suggests that he is very disappointed to be missing out on the season-opening grand slam.