Defending champion Iga Swiatek pulled out of the Miami Open on Wednesday because of a rib injury. (More Tennis News)
The No. 1-ranked Swiatek was supposed to face Claire Liu in the second round on Thursday.
As a seeded player, three-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek received a first-round bye in the hard-court tournament that she won a year ago during a 37-match unbeaten run that was the longest in women's tennis in a quarter of a century.
Swiatek, a 21-year-old from Poland, said after a 6-2 6-2 loss to eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the BNP Paribas Open semifinals on Friday that her rib was bothering her.
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"I still have to run some tests and see what's going on. I don't know yet," Swiatek said on Friday.
Instead of playing Swiatek, Liu will go up against 94th-ranked Julia Grabher, who lost in qualifying, but now gets to move into the draw.
Liu advanced on Tuesday when her first-round opponent, Katerina Siniakova, stopped playing in the second set because of a hurt wrist.
