Ashleigh Barty pulls out of Open lead-up events Ashleigh Barty was in great form but injury forced her out. Rising Australian star Ashleigh Barty will not play Maria Sharapova in the Brisbane International, and will not play again before the Australian Open, having withdrawn from the grand slam lead-up events after suffering a small tear in her left adductor. Having first experienced discomfort during her first round upset of former world No.5 Daniela Hantuchova, the Queensland qualifier announced late on Tuesday night that she would be pulling out of both the singles and doubles - with partner Casey Dellacqua - as a precautionary measure. "Obviously it's really disappointing that I can't go out there and play my match against Maria, and also have the opportunity to play the doubles with Casey again," said Barty, 17. It's a tough decision but a smart one that we have to make. Unfortunately I won't be able to play in Hobart next week either. So it's pretty much just I need give myself, my body, 10 to 12 days to recover and hopefully be right for the Australian Open. Barty said she was confident she would be fit to compete at Melbourne Park, where she reached the doubles final last year with Dellacqua and received a wildcard into the singles draw. From the medical advise that I received, (it) should be fine. So I've just got to make sure that I do everything right and recover and do as much rehab as I possibly can from now until the Australian Open. She admitted she and her coach, Jason Stoltenberg, had been tempted by the prospect of playing the biggest match of her young career against Sharapova, before decising that the risk was too great. Obviously I've worked really hard over the pre-season. It's not every week you get opportunities like this to play against the best players in the world. It's really disappointing," Barty said, indicating she would remain in Brisbane for treatment for the next few days before flying to Melbourne. We really wanted to go out and have a go. Unfortunately, I would just make it worse, and that's just no way to go out and play a tennis match really. I've just got to do everything the best I can and hopefully be ready for the Australian Open.