French Open champion Iga Swiatek has decided to skip next week's Stuttgart Open and will begin her claycourt swing in Madrid the following week, the Polish teenager said on Monday. 

Swiatek, 19, said her focus is on playing in Madrid and Rome, both WTA 1000 events, before her title defence at Roland Garros which begins on May 30 after it was postponed by a week due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Unfortunately I won't play in Stuttgart this year," she said in a statement. 

"It wasn't an easy decision but after a lot of discussion we decided that I need more time to prepare properly for tournaments in Madrid, Rome and Paris." 

Swiatek's last tournament was a third round exit at the Miami Open last month. 

Meanwhile, at the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters, it ended early on Monday after rain led to the suspension of a host of matches. 

Organizers decided at 19:15 local time (17:15 GMT) to move the matches that could not be finished to Tuesday after play was suspended twice and only four of Monday's 13 scheduled singles matches were completed. 

Both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal make their returns after two months out at this year's first clay-court Masters 1000 event, with Nadal aiming to extend his own records, while Djokovic will try to claim his third title here.  

The duo have not played since the delayed Australian Open in February where the world No.1 Serb claimed his ninth Melbourne title and 18th career major. 

There are concerns over the lingering back problem Nadal is carrying ahead of a grueling clay court season which peaks at the French Open from May 30. 

Nadals world ranking has slipped to No.3, replaced by Russia's Daniil Medvedev. 

(With input from agencies)