Sebastian Korda has withdrawn from the 2025 Brisbane International just hours before his opening match. The player’s surprising decision has caused concern among the tennis community.

Korda was slated to open his 2025 campaign against France’s Arthur Cazaux at the ATP 250 in Brisbane on Tuesday, December 31. The American had touched down in the Australian city days in advance and was captured training at the venue with the likes of Holger Rune.

Despite his seemingly routine preparation, Sebastian Korda decided against contesting his first match. He’s been replaced by Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic.

Korda has also pulled out of his men’s doubles match partnering Grigor Dimitrov. The player hasn’t issued any statement regarding his withdrawal yet. This mystery development raised eyebrows among tennis fans.

“Devastating news for our boy Sebi Korda. hopefully this is just a precaution to be healthy for the Aussie Open but this is not a good sign for Korda who is returning to action after season ending surgery in 2024,” one fan said.

Korda is expected to compete in Adelaide (January 6-11) next. The American was the runner-up at the 2023 Adelaide International, where he fell short despite having a championship point against Novak Djokovic.

Sebastian Korda’s 2024 season reached a premature end

Sebastian Korda’s withdrawal comes in light of his prolonged tennis absence. The former World No. 15, who won his maiden ATP 500 title in Washington, DC, in July, hasn’t competed since his US Open second-round loss to Tomas Machac in August.

In October, after multiple tournament withdrawals, the 24-year-old revealed that he underwent elbow surgery to correct an unceasing issue.

“I wanted to update you all — I’ve been dealing with some elbow issues and my team and I decided surgery was the best option. Everything went great, and I can’t wait to be back on court soon. Thanks for all your support!” he wrote on Instagram at the time.

This isn’t the first such injury that has derailed Sebastian Korda’s season. In 2023, the player produced his best Grand Slam result yet by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. En route, he also defeated three-time tournament runner-up Daniil Medvedev. Korda, however, played through a wrist injury in his quarterfinal against Karen Khachanov and eventually retired in the third set.

The World No. 22 was forced out of action for three months thereafter. At the tail end of 2023, Korda said he missed “another four months relearning how to do everything.”