Sharapova pulls out of Olympics
By The Associated Press Thu Jul 31, 7:28 PM ET
Maria Sharapova will miss the Beijing Olympics because of a right shoulder injury.
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The three-time Grand Slam singles champion said on her Web site Thursday that an MRI exam and other medical tests showed she has two small tears in tendons in her shoulder.
The right-handed Sharapova pulled out of the WTA tournament in Montreal because of the shoulder on Wednesday night — after winning a nearly three-hour match in which she double-faulted a whopping 17 times.
She was examined by a trainer midway through the three-set victory.
"After yesterday's match, I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder," Sharapova said in a posting on her Web site under the headline: "No chance of me competing in Beijing."
The Aug. 11-17 Olympic tennis tournament lost another top player earlier Thursday, when 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus withdrew because of a wrist injury.
Others who won't play in Beijing for various reasons include past Grand Slam singles champions Andy Roddick, Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce.
Sharapova has been bothered off-and-on by her right shoulder for some time, and she pulled out of a tournament in March because of it.
"This is something that needs a lot of time to heal, which really hurts me to say that I have to miss the Olympics," she said on the Web site Thursday. "I'm currently packing up really quick to hop on the plane and head to (New York) for a second opinion, but I wanted to let all of you know first that there's no chance of me competing in Beijing. The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything."
Sharapova was briefly ranked No. 1 this season and is currently No. 3.
By skipping the Olympics, she will have more time to rest ahead of the U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam tournament, which begins Aug. 25.
link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080731/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_ten_sharapova_out;_ylt=AlJeDxChAUWmajH_ZU9_VRyQFs0F
Sharapova says she’ll miss US Open after Olympics
Maria Sharapova will sit out the U.S. Open because of a bad right shoulder, the first major championship she’ll miss since her Grand Slam debut in 2003.
The three-time Grand Slam title winner already had announced she’s pulling out of the Beijing Olympics because of the injury. Sharapova said in a posting on her Web site Friday she probably won’t need surgery and could be ready to play in two to three months.
“It hurts me so much to miss the Olympics and the U.S. Open, you have no idea,” she said. “Just to type those words hurt!!”
In a sport that often sees top players sidelined by injury, the No. 3-ranked Sharapova has played in each of the past 23 major tournaments, winning championships at Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in January.
She would have been counted among the main contenders at this year’s U.S. Open, which begins in New York on Aug. 25.
But a doctor who looked at tests on her shoulder from April and this week told Sharapova she has been playing with that tendon tear in her shoulder since the spring.
“He actually couldn’t believe that I’ve been playing this long with this injury. You can imagine that I was not very thrilled to hear that my medical team did not see this tear in my shoulder back in April,” she said. “The good news is that it didn’t get much worse since April, but we could have started the healing time back then instead of now.”
Sharapova will go to Arizona to work with a specialist for rehab and strength work.
“Now I need to move forward and stay positive,” she said. “I am going to work hard to get healthy.”
Sharapova is 32-4 with three titles in 2008, and she briefly was ranked No. 1. The 21-year-old Russian has become one of tennis’ biggest stars, with millions of dollars in endorsement deals.
She pulled out of a tournament in Montreal because of the shoulder on Wednesday night—after winning a nearly three-hour match in which she double-faulted 17 times. Sharapova then had a series of tests on her shoulder and said Thursday she wouldn’t compete in Beijing.
“Once I’m healthy, I’m sure I’ll look at this as a blessing in disguise,” she said Friday. “Right now it’s a bit painful, of course, but every athlete goes through these patches and I’m just grateful that this isn’t as bad as it could have been.”
link: http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=Al765r1Ldf1t27UFEs1Lh1w4v7YF?slug=ap-usopen-sharapovaout&prov=ap&type=lgns
