Daniil Medvedev will not fight to return to the top of the world tennis rankings for the time being.
The 26-year-old Russian, currently in second place behind Novak Djokovic, has to take a break for several weeks.
Medvedev announced on social media on Saturday that he had been playing with a minor hernia in recent months.
He and his team have now decided to solve the problem with a corresponding minor operation.
"I'll probably be out for the next month or two," Medvedev wrote.
He will work hard to return as soon as possible.
Medvedev was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 tournament in Miami on Thursday.
He had missed the hoped-for return to the top of the world rankings.
Medvedev had replaced Djokovic as the leader just a few weeks ago. Due to the early exit in Indian Wells, he had to give up the top position immediately, even if Djokovic was not allowed to start in the two big hard court tournaments in the USA due to his missing corona vaccination .