(Reuters) - Kevin Anderson has pulled out of all clay tournaments this season, including next month's French Open, to give himself time to recover from an elbow injury, the South African said on Tuesday.
The big-serving 32-year-old, who also withdrew from Indian Wells and the Mote Carlo Masters this year, last played at the Miami Open last month where he was ousted in the quarter-finals by eventual champion Roger Federer.
"I will unfortunately be missing the clay season this year," Anderson said in a statement on Twitter. "After discussing with my doctors and team, we thought the best decision is to rest and rehab my elbow injury for a few more weeks.
"I will keep working hard each day to get healthy again in time for (the) grass (season). I'm very disappointed to be missing Estoril, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros... but I know this is the right decision for the long term in my career."
Anderson, currently ranked sixth in the world, will look to return for the grass court season with an eye on Wimbledon which begins on July 1.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
