Unwell Wozniacki pulls out of Dubai Tennis Championship

Stefanie Voegele will take on Polona Hercog in the first round after Caroline Wozniacki withdrew due to illness.

Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open

Caroline Wozniacki has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Tennis Championships due to a viral illness.

World number 14 Wozniacki pulled out of last week's Qatar Open due to the issue and has been unable to recover in time to compete in the United Arab Emirates.

The Dane was initially scheduled to face Sam Stosur in the first round on Monday, but the 2011 US Open champion was replaced by lucky loser Stefanie Voegele due to personal reasons.

Read: Muguruza and Kasatkina battle their way into Dubai second round

Voegele will now take on another lucky loser in Polona Hercog.

"I'm just trying to recover after taking a few days off in bed, drinking some tea and feeling better for sure," said Wozniacki at the draw ceremony on Saturday.

She has not returned to the court since suffering a third-round loss to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in January.