Canadian tennis star Auger-Aliassime withdraws from Dubai with back injury

Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime has withdrawn from from this week's Dubai Tennis Championships with a back injury.

Organizers of the ATP 500 tournament announced Auger-Aliassime's withdrawal on Twitter and said the 21-year-old from Montreal will be replaced in the draw by Australia's Alexei Popyrin.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked ninth in the world, was seeded third in Dubai.

The Canadian is off to an excellent start this season that includes his first ever ATP Tour title earlier this month in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

He advanced to the final of last week's Open 13 Provence in Marseille, France, losing to Russian Andrey Rublev in Sunday's title match.

Auger-Aliassime also advanced to the quarterfinals of this year's Australian Open, where he pushed eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev to five sets. He also helped Canada win the ATP Cup in January, clinching the title with a win over Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the final.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2022.