Clijsters, del Potro to miss French Open

PARIS, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Open champions Kim Clijsters and Juan Martin del Potro have withdrawn from the French Open, tournament officials said Friday.

Clijsters, who had recently returned after a 2-year break from tennis, won the U.S. Open last fall and has climbed to No. 10 in the world rankings. However, she suffered a foot injury and won't be able to play at Paris.

Del Potro defeated Roger Federer at the 2009 U.S. Open for his first major tournament title but almost since then has been hindered by a wrist injury. His only appearance this year was at the Australian Open.

He recently said he would have surgery to address the issue, putting even his U.S. Open title defense in doubt.

World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko pulled out of the French Open, also citing wrist issues. He has played just once since the Australian Open, winning the April tournament in Qatar.

Officials Friday announced a series of other withdrawals from the French Open including men James Blake, Tommy Haas and Igor Andreev and women Urszula Radwanska, Sania Mirza, Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Sabine Lisicki.

The French Open runs May 23-June 6.