Former world number one Maria Sharapova’s return to singles competition has been delayed yet again.
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced the news on Wednesday that Sharapova will skip next week’s mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
Sharapova officially returned to the Tour last week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, but only in the doubles draw. She and her doubles partner Elena Vesnina lost their opening match to Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek.
The three-time Grand Slam champion has been off the Tour since prior to the summer Beijing Olympics because of a shoulder injury.
As she has been injured and away from competition for over six months, Sharapova will have the option of petitioning the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for a protected injury ranking once she does return to singles play.
I don’t know what to think. I think she should try and retire if the shoulder starts hurting. By her own admission she needs more match play to see how it is holding up. I don’t know how else to do that without trying to play even if she doesn’t succeed. I want to see her back healthy but she has to walk a fine line.
Time is definitely not on Sharapova’s side right now, Sunny. Clay is her worst surface, so it will be interesting to see if she comes back during the upcoming clay season or waits to return on grass.
Aaress,
Oh yeah. When I said “retire” before, I did not mean RETIRE, I meant that she should try some real matches and if the shoulder feels bad, retire from that particular match and go back to practice.
Thanks for your comments Aaress. I didn’t think about the clay season. She did win the Amelia Island title last season, so maybe she might try the new Ponte Vedra Beach tourney.
I think Maria should optimise her schedule towards Wimbledon, and use the clay-court season primarily to get some match-play.
There’s nothing I’d rather see Maria do than complete her Career Grand Slam by winning the French Open, but sadly that’s no longer a realistic goal for this year.
[...] to Maria Sharapova Blog and On The Baseline, Maria Sharapova will withdraw from the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.But her name is still on the [...]