Andy Murray is planning to skip the French Open again this year and the entire clay-court portion of the tennis calendar in order to minimise the chance of missing Wimbledon.
The former world No1 feels that ongoing injury issues experienced last year were exacerbated by playing doubles on the red dust in Rome, almost putting him in danger of missing a first singles appearance at SW19 since 2017.
Murray is eager to take no such risks this year and looks set to once more sit out Roland Garros, which begins in Paris on May 22.
"Right now I am not planning on playing through the clay," said the three-time Grand Slam winner, per Sky Sports.
"The past couple of years, the clay has made issues worse; last year I had some issues at the beginning of the year, the clay didn't help, so I've spoken to my team about that and this year while I feel good and healthy, I don't want to take that risk.
"It's not that I wouldn't potentially play on clay in the future. Last year I almost missed Wimbledon, was close to not playing the grass season, I'm not planning on playing the clay. I will still try to compete a bit during that period, I won't do nothing, that's my plan just now.
"I had a busy end of last year and the next couple of months I won't take any risks and hopefully get a good build up to the grass season."
Murray reached the final of the French Open in 2016 - losing to Novak Djokovic - and the semis in 2017, but his only appearance there in recent years ended in a first-round defeat as a wildcard by ex-champion Stan Wawrinka in 2020.
The 34-year-old made an impressive start to the 2022 season, reaching the final of the Sydney Classic before ousting Nikoloz Basilashvili in five sets at the Australian Open.
He was defeated in the second round in Melbourne by Japan's Taro Daniel.
