SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's top-ranked player Nick Kyrgios on Thursday said he was withdrawing from next week's Davis Cup World Group showdown against the Czech Republic with a back problem.
He was to have joined Bernard Tomic as one of the likely singles players for Australia, with veteran Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth completing the line-up under new captain Wally Masur.
"I am totally gutted to have to pull out but the medical advice is that my back is not ready to handle the workload required for a Davis Cup tie," he said in a statement.
"I have been doing everything possible to get it right and I had convinced myself I could handle it but the doctors tell me the risk is just too great.
"They say this simply cannot be rushed."
The first-round tie, in Ostrava from March 6-8, will see Australia take on a Czech team without stars Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.
Kyrgios, 19, also sat out last month's Hopman Cup with back trouble and has not played since he reached the Australian Open quarter-finals.