The Fed Cup women's team tennis competition received another blow when Australia's [Images] senior player Nicole Pratt pulled out of the Asia-Oceania zonal tie to be played in New Delhi [Images] next week.

Pratt won her only WTA Tour title in Hyderabad last year, becoming the oldest player to win a maiden trophy at the age of 30.

No official reason was available for Pratt's withdrawal.

Sophie Ferguson was named as Pratt's replacement but she was yet to reach the city.

Australia's number one player Alicia Molik [Images] had already made herself unavailable due to an injury.

Samantha Stosur, Evie Dominikovic, Bryanne Stewart are the other three members of the team from Down Under.

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The tournament already has lost a bit of its sheen with Sania Mirza [Images] unlikely to play as the ankle injury she had been carrying on for the past two months had flared up.

Another no show was Kyrgyztan in Group 2.

With two days to go for the start, teams that had arrive were in full practice sessions.

India, with Shikha Uberoi, Ankita Bhambri, Sanaa Bhambri and Poonam Reddy under coach Enrico Piperno, had a lengthy session that began under the warm evening sun and spilled over to floodlit conditions.

The matches, scheduled to begin on Tuesday after the draw ceremony on Monday, would be played in the evening under lights.

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