Henman ended the season ranked 39 in the world

The 32-year-old Briton plans to spend more time with his family and also allow a knee injury to heal completely.

"Usually I play a tournament before the Open but this year I decided to spend a little longer at home with my family before hitting the road again.

"And it will also give me a bit of extra time to make sure my knee is fully recovered before I start."

Henman picked up the injury to his right knee at the end of the season but he came through a charity game with Mark Philippoussis earlier this month.

"It's about 85% at the moment but it's proving a bit stubborn and it's not quite fully healed yet," said Henman.