French world No.8 Caroline Garcia has been forced to retire in her Brisbane International first round match with compatriot Alize Cornet.

The fourth seed looked to have control of the contest, when she took the first set 6-3, but Cornet returned the favour to send the tournament opener to a deciding set.

Garcia then took an injury time-out to treat lower back soreness and played just one point in the final set before pulling the pin. Cornet advances 3-6 6-3 ret.

It is a big blow for Garcia, who was in tears when shaking hands at the net, given her brilliant finish to the 2017 season.

Her ranking surged from 20 to No.8 in the last two months of this year as she beat Ashleigh Barty in the Wuhan Open final, backed up to win the China Open the following week, and finished with a semi-final appearance at the WTA Finals in Singapore.

Cornet, a finalist in Brisbane last January, will play Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second round.

Lucic-Baroni beat Tatjana Maria 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 as menacing clouds built around the Queensland Tennis Centre on a humid Sunday afternoon.