PRAGUE: World No 9 Lucie Safarova said on Sunday she would skip the Hopman Cup in Perth in January to recover from a bacterial infection that saw her hospitalised for a week in September.

“Due to complications linked to the bacterial infection, I’m not fully fit yet and so I have decided to pull out of the Hopman Cup,” Safarova said on Facebook.

She added that 11th-ranked Karolina Pliskova would replace her to team up with world No 41 Jiri Vesely for the January 3-9 mixed team event.

Safarova, who played the French Open finals last year before catching the infection, said she wanted to get ready to “start next season at the Australian Open” later next month.