Ajla Tomljanović has been sidelined after undergoing surgery to remove non-cancerous tumours from her uterus.
The Australian tennis player has been on the comeback trail following an injury-ravaged 2023, but revealed that she will put her career on hold “for a couple of weeks” after surgery due to uterine fibroids.
Tomljanović announced the news on Instagram along with a photo of her smiling while laying in a hospital bed.
“Hello everyone, unfortunately, I won’t be competing for a couple of weeks … was very much looking forward to the next hard court events,” she said.
“I had to get some uterine fibroids removed and will be watching from home while healing. Will be back soon.”
The Croatian-born right-hander added a link to her post for further information on uterine fibroids, saying that it was “for all my girlies and men (too) who want to (should) learn more.”
Tomljanović reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022 but suffered from a run of injury and illness in 2023 that wiped out much of her campaign.
The 30-year-old returned to playing late last year and reached the second round at the Australian Open before being beaten by 11th seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets.
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“I feel like I should be angry, but I’m really chilled because it didn’t feel like I did something crazy wrong,” Tomljanović said after the loss at Melbourne Park.
“When I do think back to 12 months ago, I just feel lucky that I’m here.”
Tomljanović also appeared at the Thailand Open last month but was defeated by Hungarian qualifier Dalma Galfi in straight sets.
The world No 221 reached a career-high singles ranking of No 32 in April last year before going under the knife to address a knee issue.
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“You just never know, the knee never feels the same. So you’ve got to almost find a new way to approach your career,” Tomljanović said at the Australian Open.
“And being 30 years of age is different, your body’s different, you don’t know how it’s going to react, so there were some dark moments.”
Tennis stars from around the globe took to Instagram to throw their support behind Tomljanović after she revealed the procedure.
“Still looking flawless even on a day of surgery,” former Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady said.
“Take care, heal fast, see you soon,” Australian Open doubles champion Matt Ebden posted.
“Feel better soon Ajla!” four-time grand slam champion Kim Clijsters added.