Andy Murray pulls out of 2023 French Open

Former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the French Open on Sunday citing fatigue and fitness concerns as well as a desire to perform during the impending grass court swing of the international tour.

Former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the French Open in Paris to preserve his fitness for the grass court season. AFP/File

The 36-year-old reached the final in 2016 and has made only one appearance at the event since reaching the semi-finals in 2017.

Andy Murray will not play at @rolandgarros

🔜 the grass-court season 🌱#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/YMBpeAk8pn

— LTA (@the_LTA) May 21, 2023

Earlier this month, Murray won the second-tier Aix-en-Provence Challenger Tour on clay.

But he suffered early exits at the more prestigious Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome which were also on clay.

His travails on the surface continued last week when he failed to progress past his opening match at the challenger event in Bordeaux.

There was a valid excuse for that setback. He was up against the former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, who like Murray has been trying to rediscover some of his former elan after suffering several injuries.

Loss

Murray’s announcement comes three days after the 14-time men's singles champion Rafael Nadal said he would not compete at the French Open for the first time since 2005 in order to nurse a hip injury.

The 36-year-old Spaniard also said that he intended to make 2024 his last on the tour.

Carlos Alcaraz will lead the men’s rankings when the competition starts at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on 28 May. Iga Swiatek heads the women’s seeds.

But the 21-year-old Pole might also pull out. She suffered a thigh injury on Thursday and retired from her quarter-final at the Italian Open against Elena Rybakina. Swiatek said she would assess the extent of the injury before deciding whether to defend her crown.

Hi Guys. I'm sure you're thinking about what happened last night. We're checking it. During the second set I got a thigh injury. The diagnostic is in progress. More info in the following days. Will keep you updated.

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) May 18, 2023

Rybakina went on to defeat the 20th seed Jelena Ostapenka in the semi-final and claimed her first crown in Rome when the 30th seed Anhelina Kalinin retired in the final with a thigh strain.

Rybakina, who won the Indian Wells title in March, was leading 6-4, 1-0 when the 26-year-old Ukrainian succumbed to her wounds.

“Of course, happy with the title,” said Rybakina. "But not the way I wanted to finish the match. I hope it’s nothing serious for Anhelina so that she can recover quickly.”

In the men’s final on Sunday, third seed Daniil Medvedev will play the seventh seed Holger Rune.