Defending champion Rafael Nadal remains a doubt for the French Open after pulling out of next week’s Monte Carlo Masters with a hip injury.
Nadal, number 14 in the world, has won the Monaco tournament 11 times but is in no condition to return to action.
The 36-year-old hasn’t played since his straight-set second-round loss to American Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January.
You can also read: Wimbledon lifts the ban on Russian tennis players
World number two Carlos Alcaraz is also out of Monte Carlo through injury.
The Spaniard, who is chasing Novak Djokovic for number one in the ranking, has hand and back problems.
“After two months away I am happy to return home, but sad because I finished my last match in Miami with physical discomfort,” Alcaraz, who lost to Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, said on Twitter.
“I won’t be able to go to Monte Carlo to start the clay court tour. I have post-traumatic arthritis in my left hand and muscular discomfort in my spine that requires rest to prepare for everything that is to come”.
Nadal expected to be out for six to eight weeks after an MRI after his loss in Melbourne showed a torn left psoas muscle.
But missing the start of the European clay-court season leaves him out of practice ahead of the Roland Garros event he has won a record 14 times, which begins on May 28.
