As the world number two in the ATP rankings, he wants to take advantage of the moment when Novak Djokovic, the world number one, isn't winning as easily as he has in recent years. However, an injury to his right hip is causing him a lot of problems.

In fact, it's these problems that are holding him back. The Australian Open champion said last Sunday, as quoted by AFP, that he won't play in the French Open unless he's completely healthy. He pulled out of the Italian Open this week.

The Italian announced his withdrawal from his home tournament in Rome on Saturday. He was unable to recover from a right hip injury which also forced him to withdraw from the Madrid Open last week. "I will only play at Roland Garros if I am 100 per cent fit," Sinner told a press conference in Rome last Sunday after withdrawing against his compatriots.

"I don't want to go into details (of the injury), at first we thought it was nothing serious, but the tests showed that something was wrong.

"One thing is for sure, if I'm not back to 100 per cent I'm going to take more time off because I don't want to lose three years of my career," he said.

Sinner doesn't want to take any risks that could lead to more physical problems, so he doesn't want to get ahead of himself. "It hurts (not playing), but making sure my body heals is the most important thing."

Sinner added that he would be sidelined for "a week, a week and a half", with a record of 28-2 this season. "My preparation for Paris won't be optimal because I won't have much time, but what is certain is that I will give everything to be able to play," he said.

Sinner hadn't confirmed whether he would play in the Italian Open, which starts on Wednesday. The tournament is always an important test before the second Grand Slam of the season, the French Open. However, he is not feeling well and doesn't want to take any risks as his injury could get worse. The French Open begins on 26 May.

The 22-year-old was due to face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals of the Madrid tournament on Thursday, but he withdrew because of his hip problem. Although he's not a clay-court specialist, Sinner would have been one of the favourites for the Rome tournament after an impressive start to the year.

He won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. He then claimed his second Masters 1000 crown in Miami in March. He's one of the players to beat and will be one of the favourites everywhere this year. Sinner joins world number three Carlos Alcaraz in withdrawing from the event in the Italian capital. The Spaniard suffered a right forearm injury in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

All of this, combined with Rafa Nadal's ongoing problems, describes a difficult situation for the tennis players heading to Paris, both for the French Open and the Olympics. Injuries seem to have come to dominate.