Roger Federer to miss first grand slam in 17 years after pulling out of French Open

Roger Federer has withdrawn from the French Open, bringing an end to his run of 65 consecutive grand slam appearances. The 17-time grand slam champion has been struggling with a back injury and has decided appearing at Roland Garros would be an "unnecessary risk".

The last time Federer missed a slam was at the 1999 US Open.

He delivered the news via his Facebook page: "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% and feel I might be taking an unnecessary risk by playing in this event before I am really ready.

"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, 34, missed the Madrid Open at the start of May after picking up a back strain. He returned for the Italian Open last week but was eliminated in the third round by Dominic Thiem.

The Swiss has been limited to just four events in 2016 in total, having also undergone knee surgery following the Australian Open that ruled him out of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and the Free Tennis Championships in Dubai.