British tennis player Sonay Kartal has withdrawn from Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia in Melbourne due to a lower back injury. The 24-year-old British number two was forced to retire from her fourth-round match at Indian Wells last month against world number three Elena Rybakina after experiencing back issues.

Kartal's absence compounds Great Britain's challenges for the April 10-11 tie, as the team will be without their four highest-ranked players. Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, and Francesca Jones were not included in the initial squad as they focus on their clay-court seasons. This leaves world number 181 Harriet Dart as Britain's highest-ranked singles player for the crucial qualifier.

Kartal revealed that medical scans showed she needs more time to recover from her injury. The withdrawal represents a significant setback for British tennis, as the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia was already shaping up to be a challenging tie without several of the nation's top players.