SYDNEY, Oct 5, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - World number one Ash Barty will miss the

maiden edition of the Billie Jean King Cup in Prague next month, Tennis
Australia said Tuesday, increasing doubts about whether she will play again
this season.

  The Australian's withdrawal from the women's team tennis competition
formerly known as the Fed Cup comes hot on the heels of her decision to sit
out this month's Indian Wells tournament in California.

  Tennis Australia gave no reason for Barty's absence, simply saying world
number 47 Ajla Tomljanovic would lead Australia's five-player team in the
Czech Republic at the November 1-6 event.

  The decision raises doubts about 25-year-old Barty's participation in the
rest of the 2021 season, including her defence of the WTA Finals title she
won in 2019 before last year's version was cancelled due to the Covid-19
pandemic.

  Barty had a stellar start to the year, winning five titles including
Wimbledon, which gave her a second Grand Slam to add to her 2019 French Open
crown.

  But she has not played since suffering a shock third-round loss to American
Shelby Rogers at the US Open in early September, when she said the year had
been a "rollercoaster".

  Barty's coach Craig Tyzzer said in the weeks after the US Open that her
priority was to get ready for the Australian Open, which is set to resume its
traditional January timeslot in 2022 after a pandemic-enforced delay this
year.

  Her best performance at her home Grand Slam is a semi-final appearance in
2020.

  If Barty did travel to Mexico for the season-ending WTA Finals, Australia's
strict border controls mean she would face two weeks quarantine upon
returning home, potentially disrupting her training.