British star Emma Raducanu was forced to withdraw from the ASB Classic, after rolling her ankle during her second round match against Viktoria Kuzmova on Thursday.
The 2021 US Open champion bowed out at the start of the third set in tears with the score at 6-0, 5-7.
Raducanu looked in superb touch as she blitzed the opening set until the incident occurred part way through the second.
She took the court for the third set after receiving extensive treatment on the ankle during a medical timeout but quickly realised she wouldn't be able to continue and walked to the net to shake Kuzmova's hand distraught.
Former US Open champion Raducanu swept the first set in 22 minutes but faltered in the second and had her left ankle examined during a medical time-out, before leaving court in tears after being unable to complete the first point of the decider.
The injury puts her participation at this month's Australian Open - which starts on January 16 - in doubt. She'd only recently worked her way back to the court after a lengthy absence due to a wrist injury.
"I've put a lot of physical work in the last few months and I've been feeling good and optimistic," Raducanu told Stuff.
"So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well. I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis."
The 20-year-old pointed out the perils of using the indoor courts - called into action due to the incessant Auckland rain - which hadn't been resurfaced before the start of the competition, while suggesting the tournament could have been run smoother.
"The courts are incredibly slick, like very slippery, so to be honest it's not a surprise that this happened to someone," she told Stuff. "We'll assess over the next few days and see what the next steps are.
"But Auckland overall, it rained a lot this week, so I didn't get to see much and I thought maybe certain aspects could have been organised better.
"But overall I had pleasant support when playing outdoors and the crowd made me feel really welcome and at home."
Meanwhile, Raducanu's fellow 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez breezed through her second-round tie against Julia Grabher, winning 6-0 6-1 to reaffirm her standing as one of the form players of the tournament. She'll face Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Earlier, Coco Gauff beat fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-4 to set up a quarter-final against China's Zhu Lin, who outlasted Venus Williams 3-6 6-2 7-5 in a rain-hit match that ran two hours and 23 minutes.
Williams, 42, served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but Zhu broke and then fended off four break points before closing out the victory.
Schedule of play for quarter-finals on Friday, January 6:
Coco Gauff (USA) v Lin Zhu (China) - 12pm
Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovakia) v Danka Kovinic (Montenegro) - 1:15pm
Ysaline Bonaventure (Belgium) v Leylah Fernandez (Canada) - 2:30pm
Karolina Muchova (Czech) v Rebeka Masarova (Spain) - 7pm
Join us from 12pm Friday for live updates of ASB Classic, day five
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