Roger Federer has announced he is to miss the rest of 2016 to rest his troublesome knee, which he had surgery on earlier this year.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner has revealed he will be missing the Olympics, US Open and ATP World Tour finals on medical advice, as he is keen to prolong his career.
A statement by the player on his Facebook page said: remove extra space "Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very difficult decision to call an end to my 2016 season as I need more extensive rehabilitation following my knee surgery earlier this year.
"The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover."
While the player's absence may disappoint tennis fans in the short term, the message was a clear indication that Federer will be looking to return to play in the major events next year and beyond.
Although the news means the player will not be taking part in this year's ATP World Tour finals, that does means fans booking corporate hospitality for the event could see a very exciting race opening up to qualify.
Of course, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have all but qualified, while Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic is now in third place, with 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal fourth.
The other four qualifying places are currently occupied by Kei Nishikori, Austrian youngster Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych. At the age of 22 and the only player in the top eight yet to reach a Grand Slam final, Thiem may be one to watch.
Federer was already outside the top eight, but in tenth place with 2,130 points he was just 130 behind Berdych and 55 behind Gael Monfils, who will be pushing hard to sneak into the top eight.
Those with increased hope of making the cut now include David Goffin, Pablo Cuevas, Roberto Bautista Agut and Nick Kyrgios, all of whom have over 1,500 points.
By Alex Brundell