Sharapova suffered a shock second round defeat at
Wimbledon before injury ended her season.
Maria Sharapova pulled out of the season
ending WTA Championships in Istanbul Monday, still
plagued by a troubling right shoulder injury.
The Russian World No.3 has only played one match in
the second half of 2013 and has admitted defeat in her
battle to get fit for the prestigious tournament in Turkey
later this month.
"I am very disappointed that I will not be able to play in
the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships this year," she
told her official website .
"The fans in Istanbul have welcomed us each year with
such intense passion and warmth, I will sincerely miss
the energy and excitement they brought to the year-
end tournament."
Read: Sharapova crashes out of Wimbledon
Last year's tournament was played to
capacity crowds in the Sinan Erdem Dome
and Sharapova progressed to the final
where she was beaten in straight sets by
current No.1 Serena Williams.
Sharapova showed fine form in the first
half of this year, winning two tournaments
and losing to the dominant Williams in the
final of the French Open.
But at Wimbledon she lost in the second
round to qualifier Michelle Larcher de
Brito before injury problems struck again.
Sharapova has battled shoulder injuries
throughout her career and underwent
major surgery in October 2008.
Read: Serena: I apologized to Maria
She defied the doubters to return to the
upper echelons of the rankings, capped by
her French Open triumph in 2012,
completing a career grand slam of the
major titles.
Sharapova will now bid to recuperate in time for the
2014 Australian Open in January.
Meanwhile, the WTA announced that Petra Kvitova of
the Czech Republic, Italy's Sara Errani and Jelena
Jankovic had clinched their place in the eight-strong
field for Istanbul.
They join Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka
Radwanska and Li Na in the $6 million event with one
place still to be decided.
Comments
Post a Comment