"Sadly I won't be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete," the three-time Grand Slam champion Murray said in a statement. "I'll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon."
Murray, who earlier withdrew from the Brisbane International, did fly from Queensland to Melbourne, but only to catch a connecting flight back to Europe, the national broadcaster ABC reported. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said he respected what was a "very hard decision for Andy."
The loss of the Scot, who may now opt for surgery on his hip, came with injury clouds hanging over a who's who of stars before the Open begins on January 15 World number one Rafael Nadal and six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic remain huge doubts having yet to play a competitive match this year.
Nadal, the reigning French Open and US Open champion, pulled out of Brisbane at the weekend with a knee injury but said he still intends to play at Melbourne Park. Former world number one Novak Djokovic has not played since a right elbow issue forced him to quit Wimbledon in the quarter-finals. He cancelled scheduled appearances in Abu Dhabi and Doha but intends to test the injury next week at two warm-up events in Melbourne before deciding whether to embark on a tilt at a record seventh Aussie title.
"Novak is travelling to Australia where he will take part in two exhibition tournaments," said a statement on 12-time Grand Slam winner's website early Thursday.