Federer Withdraws From French Open

Roger Federer withdrew from the French Open for health reasons and will miss a Grand Slam event for the first time since 1999.

Federer, 34, said on his personal Facebook page Thursday that playing in the tournament would be an unnecessary risk.

“I regret to announce that I have made the decision not to play in this year’s French Open. I have been making steady progress with my overall fitness, but I am still not 100 percent and feel I might be taking an unnecessary risk by playing in this event before I am really ready,” the post read. “This decision was not easy to make, but I took it to ensure I could play the remainder of the season and help to extend the rest of my career. I remain as motivated and excited as ever and my plan is to achieve the highest level of fitness before returning to the ATP World Tour for the upcoming grass court season. I am sorry for my fans in Paris but I very much look forward to returning to Roland Garros in 2017.”

Federer is ranked No. 3 and had played in 65 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. He was last not in the field for one of tennis’ prized events in the 1999 U.S. Open.

A 17-time Grand Slam champion, Federer withdrew from the Madrid Masters with a back injury before losing in the third round of the Rome Masters. He also withdrew from the Miami Open in March, citing a stomach virus, and missed the Rotterdam Open, the Dubai Championships and the Indian Wells Masters due to a knee injury.

Federer underwent knee surgery in February to repair a torn meniscus.