Lingering injury forces Sharapova to nix Wimbledon
PARIS — Maria Sharapova withdrew from Wimbledon on Saturday after failing to recover from a thigh injury — dealing another blow to the superstar’s bid to rebuild her career following a doping ban.
The 30-year-old Russian, who was champion at the All England Club in 2004, was due to play in the qualifying event in the hope of making the main draw.
“After an additional scan, the muscle tear that I sustained in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to compete in the grass court tournaments I was scheduled to play,” she said in a statement.
“I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford (California), starting on July 31.”
The former world No 1 returned from a 15-month doping ban in April but has
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relied on wild cards to get into tournaments because her world ranking points expired while she was banned.
Tthe five-time Grand Slam title winner is currently ranked No 178.
She was initially banned for two years for using meldonium, with the penalty later reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled she was not an intentional doper.
After her ban expired, Sharapova returned to competition in April at the Stuttgart Open, reaching the semifinals, and progressed to the last 32 of the Madrid Open.
She failed to earn a qualifying spot for the French Open and was then denied a wild card into the main draw by Roland Garros organizers, despite being a two-time champion.
On the same day, she sustained the thigh injury that has now sidelined her from Wimbledon for a second straight year.
Bruised by the Roland Garros snub, Sharapova decided not to request a Wimbledon wild card, deciding instead to take her chances in three rounds of qualifying.
She was still controversially handed a wild card for the WTA grasscourt event in Bir- mingham later this month, a key warm-up for Wimbledon.
But the injury she sustained in the Rome claycourt event in May has torpedoed her plans, leaving her to probably hope for a wild card into the US Open, the season’s final Grand Slam.
Sharapova was champion in New York in 2006.
“I want to thank the Lawn Tennis Association for their amazing support on my return and for providing me with a Birmingham wild card, a tournament which I hope many of you will be able to attend,” Sharapova said.
“I look forward to meeting you there next year.”
Only two weeks ago, Wimbledon decided that the qualifying event, held at nearby Roehampton, would be broadcast for the first time.
However, a representative of the All England Lawn Ten- nis Club, the tournament organizers, said that was one of several “long-planned” changes and not a decision made in response to the added interest in the event caused by Sharapova’s presence.
Qualifying is also to be ticketed for the first time.
Sharapova was denied a wild card for the French Open, which she has won twice.
The women’s final in Paris was on Saturday, with unseeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia beating Romania’s Simona Halep in three sets for the title.
Just two days past her 20th birthday, Ostapenko was the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam championship since Sharapova was 19 at the 2006 US Open.
Two years before that, at 17, Sharapova won her first major title at Wimbledon.
I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford, starting on July 31.” Maria Sharapova, on her injury and return