Becker Withdraws From French; Sampras, Hingis Still Hobbling

Boris Becker is out of the French Open again and Pete Sampras is hurting with the Grand Slam tournament less than a week away.

Becker withdrew from the French for the second consecutive year. According to officials at the French Tennis Federation, Becker sent a fax Monday to say he had to withdraw from the tournament because of an injury, although it did not cite the specific problem.

The WTA and ATP Tour released the tennis rankings that determine the seedings for the French Open, but there is a lot of uncertainty at the top of the list.

Sampras, expected to be top-seeded in the Grand Slam tournament that begins next Monday, has lost his only two matches on clay this year and then had to stop in another match on Monday.

Martina Hingis, No. 1 on the women’s side, hasn’t had any clay court matches and is scheduled to return after a knee injury from a horse riding accident April 21.

The organizing committee for the two-week tournament usually goes along with the tennis rankings of the professional tennis associations. The actual draw and final seedings will be out Friday.