Tunisia's Jabeur, 28, was runner up at last year's Wimbledon and US Open but dropped down from second in the world rankings in February .

"To take care of my health situation. My medical team have decided that I need to get a minor surgery in order to be able to be back on the courts and perform well," Jabeur said on social media.

"I will have to retire from Doha and Dubai and this is breaking my heart.

"I would like to say sorry to all the fans out there in the middle east that waited for this reunion. I promise I will come back to you stronger and healthy," she added.

The WTA event in Qatar starts on February 13 with the Dubai tournament six days later.