Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Wimbledon qualifying tournament due to an ongoing muscle tear.
Sharapova sustained a thigh injury during the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on May 16th, forcing her to withdraw midway during a match. Since then, she hasn’t played a match on the tour after failing to receive a wild card for the French Open. The Russian was not ranked high enough to enter the grand slam event after serving a two-year doping ban for meldonium.
Doubts concerning Sharapova’s current fitness circulated earlier this week when she withdrew from the Birmingham Open after failing to recover in time for the start of the tournament. Providing an update about her injury on social media, Sharapova confirmed that a scan revealed that the injury will not be healed in time for Wimbledon qualifying, which will start on June 26th.
“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.” Sharapova said on Facebook.
“I want to thank the LTA for their amazing support on my return and providing me with a Birmingham wild card, a tournament which I hope many of you will be able to attend.”
The 30-year-old was set to be the star attraction for the qualifying competition at SW19. She opted to play qualifying following her denial of a wild card at the French Open. Recently the All England Club stated their confidence that the venue will be able to cope with the high interest of the public surrounding Sharapova’s expected presence at the event. This year will be the first time Wimbledon has broadcast the qualifying competition, become the last grand slam to do so.
Since returning from her suspension in April, Sharapova has won five out of eight matches played. At her first tournament, the Stuttgart Open, she reached the semifinals followed by second round appearances in both Madrid and Rome.
According to her schedule, the Russian will return to the tour in the first week of August at the Bank of West Classic if she is fully fit.
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