Kevin Anderson to skip clay season due to elbow injury

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 big-serving 32-year-old, who also withdrew from Indian Wells and the Monte-Carlo Masters this year, last played at the Miami Open where he was beaten 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.

The towering Anderson, Wimbledon runner-up last year who is known for his big serve, pulled out of Indian Wells in March because of the painful right elbow.

"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, ranked sixth in the world, will look to return for the grass-court season with an eye on Wimbledon which begins on July 1.