OTTAWA (REUTERS) - Canada's Bianca Andreescu has pulled out of the French Open and will take the rest of the season off to focus on her recuperation, the world number seven said on Tuesday (Sept 22).

Andreescu, who did not defend her 2019 US Open crown in New York this year, has not played on tour since the WTA Finals in Shenzhen last year where she retired with a knee injury that also kept her out of the Australian Open in January.

"I have come to the difficult decision to skip the clay court swing this year and will be taking the remainder of the season off to focus on my health and training," Andreescu said in a statement.

"As hard as it was to come to this conclusion, I have so much to look forward to in 2021, including the Olympics. I want to use this time to focus on my game so I can come back stronger and better than ever."

The French Open begins on Sunday.