Sharapova’s shoulder is holding up pretty well

Abu Dhabi – Maria Sharapova (right) insisted this week that she still has the “internal fire and motivation” to compete professionally, despite the lingering shoulder problem that kept her out of action for long stretches this season.

The former world No 1 was only able to play in eight events in 2019, contesting just 15 matches in total.

The Russian five-time major champion made her first on-court appearance since her US Open first round exit in August in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, where she fought back from a break down in each set to defeat Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-5.

“Any chance that I get to come out and play competitively is a really good day because I just haven’t played a lot,” Sharapova told reporters at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

“Definitely I’m coming out of this match happy that I was out there again and it can only get better from here.”

While she wouldn’t reveal too many details about the state of her shoulder injury, she did say she “felt fine” after her clash with Tomljanovic, while keeping her expectations in check having been sidelined for nearly four months.

Sharapova plans on travelling Down Under for next month’s Australian Open but confirmed she will not be playing the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

With many question marks still surrounding her form and her shoulder, she’s unsure what her 2020 calendar will look like.

“I think that will be one of the biggest challenges for the new year, it’s to have a set schedule,” said the 32-year-old.

“I definitely look forward to going to Australia and seeing how things go, see how the body holds up there.”–