Maria Sharapova wont play for Beijing Olympics and US Open.

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

And The New World No.1 is.

PARIS, France - The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will crown a new world No.1 on Monday, June 9, when the latest rankings are published, following Ana Ivanovic's nail-biting win over compatriot Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals of Roland Garros on Thursday. Ivanovic replaces Maria Sharapova at the top of rankings after a three-week reign by the Russian and becomes the first player representing Serbia to hold the No.1 ranking, adding yet another milestone to her already long list of remarkable accomplishments.

What started as an historic day in Paris, with three of the four semifinalists primed to become No.1 in the world for the very first time in their careers (Ivanovic, Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova), finished as a one woman race, with Ivanovic to face Dinara Safina in the final for the first Grand Slam singles title of their careers on Saturday. Regardless of the outcome of that match, Ivanovic will become world No.1 on Monday.

At 20 years and seven months, Ivanovic becomes the seventh-youngest player to reach No.1 since Tour rankings were created in 1975, behind Martina Hingis (1997), Monica Seles (1991), Tracy Austin (1980), Steffi Graf (1987), Maria Sharapova (2005) and Kim Clijsters (2003), who were all at least 20 years and three months or younger when they got there. The Serbian also becomes the 17th top-ranked player in women's tennis history, joining a distinguished list that is comprised of Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, Austin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Clijsters, Jennifer Capriati, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Amélie Mauresmo, Seles, Graf, Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Sharapova.

"Being No.1 is a dream come true for me," Ivanovic said. "It was a big surprise because I was so focused on the tournament. This is a great achievement and something that I'm very proud of. It hasn't exactly hit me yet because it won't be official until Monday. I'm sure we'll have a big celebration then."

"We have all witnessed the dramatic rise in Serbian tennis during the last few years and on Monday that will reach a new pinnacle when Ana Ivanovic is recognized as the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's new No. 1 player," said Larry Scott, Chairman & CEO of the Tour. "Ana is both a remarkable player and person, and no doubt the best is still yet to come in her still young career. It is inspiring to see Ana's years of hard work and determination being rewarded."

Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson Corporate VP and Head of Global Communications & PR, said: "We at Sony Ericsson congratulate Ana Ivanovic on becoming the new Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world No.1 and celebrate her success at Roland Garros. Ana is only the second new world No.1 since Sony Ericsson signed the landmark sponsorship deal with the Tour in 2005 and is one of only six players who have been world No.1 in that time. Among Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin, Ana is in illustrious company. She is a worthy successor."

Ivanovic has had a remarkable 12 months posting particularly strong results at the major events, reaching the finals of the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2008, while being a semifinalist at Wimbledon and the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2007, all told, she's reached the semifinals or better in nine of her 18 events in the last 52 weeks.

This year alone, Ivanovic has won one title at the prestigious Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells California, defeating Jankovic and Kuznetsova en route. She was runner-up to Sharapova at the Australian Open in January and a semifinalist at two other Tour stops in Sydney and Berlin en route to compiling a 26-6 match win-loss record coming into the Roland Garros final.

Ivanovic first burst to prominence less than four years ago in the second round of Zürich, where as a 16-year old qualifier she pushed Venus Williams to two tie-breaks after holding set points in each set and has steadily risen up the rankings since then. Her season-ending ranking has improved from No.705 (in 2003), to No.97 (in 2004), to No.16 (in 2005), to No.14 (in 2006) and to No.4 (in 2007).

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* ANA IVANOVIC

PARIS, France - The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will crown a new world No.1 on Monday, June 9, when the latest rankings are published, following Ana Ivanovic's nail-biting win over compatriot Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals of Roland Garros on Thursday. Ivanovic replaces Maria Sharapova at the top of rankings after a three-week reign by the Russian and becomes the first player representing Serbia to hold the No.1 ranking, adding yet another milestone to her already long list of remarkable accomplishments.

What started as an historic day in Paris, with three of the four semifinalists primed to become No.1 in the world for the very first time in their careers (Ivanovic, Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova), finished as a one woman race, with Ivanovic to face Dinara Safina in the final for the first Grand Slam singles title of their careers on Saturday. Regardless of the outcome of that match, Ivanovic will become world No.1 on Monday.

At 20 years and seven months, Ivanovic becomes the seventh-youngest player to reach No.1 since Tour rankings were created in 1975, behind Martina Hingis (1997), Monica Seles (1991), Tracy Austin (1980), Steffi Graf (1987), Maria Sharapova (2005) and Kim Clijsters (2003), who were all at least 20 years and three months or younger when they got there. The Serbian also becomes the 17th top-ranked player in women's tennis history, joining a distinguished list that is comprised of Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, Austin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Clijsters, Jennifer Capriati, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Amélie Mauresmo, Seles, Graf, Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Sharapova.

"Being No.1 is a dream come true for me," Ivanovic said. "It was a big surprise because I was so focused on the tournament. This is a great achievement and something that I'm very proud of. It hasn't exactly hit me yet because it won't be official until Monday. I'm sure we'll have a big celebration then."

"We have all witnessed the dramatic rise in Serbian tennis during the last few years and on Monday that will reach a new pinnacle when Ana Ivanovic is recognized as the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's new No. 1 player," said Larry Scott, Chairman & CEO of the Tour. "Ana is both a remarkable player and person, and no doubt the best is still yet to come in her still young career. It is inspiring to see Ana's years of hard work and determination being rewarded."

Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson Corporate VP and Head of Global Communications & PR, said: "We at Sony Ericsson congratulate Ana Ivanovic on becoming the new Sony Ericsson WTA Tour world No.1 and celebrate her success at Roland Garros. Ana is only the second new world No.1 since Sony Ericsson signed the landmark sponsorship deal with the Tour in 2005 and is one of only six players who have been world No.1 in that time. Among Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin, Ana is in illustrious company. She is a worthy successor."

Ivanovic has had a remarkable 12 months posting particularly strong results at the major events, reaching the finals of the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2008, while being a semifinalist at Wimbledon and the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2007, all told, she's reached the semifinals or better in nine of her 18 events in the last 52 weeks.

This year alone, Ivanovic has won one title at the prestigious Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells California, defeating Jankovic and Kuznetsova en route. She was runner-up to Sharapova at the Australian Open in January and a semifinalist at two other Tour stops in Sydney and Berlin en route to compiling a 26-6 match win-loss record coming into the Roland Garros final.

Ivanovic first burst to prominence less than four years ago in the second round of Zürich, where as a 16-year old qualifier she pushed Venus Williams to two tie-breaks after holding set points in each set and has steadily risen up the rankings since then. Her season-ending ranking has improved from No.705 (in 2003), to No.97 (in 2004), to No.16 (in 2005), to No.14 (in 2006) and to No.4 (in 2007).

goodbye maria sharapova

Sharapova failed to overcome big-hitting Safina.

The No1 seed Maria Sharapova was dumped out of the French Open today by fellow Russian Dinara Safina, losing 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (5-7), 2-6 in a closely fought fourth-round encounter.

Sharapova was discomfited throughout by Safina's deep hitting and struggled to put her game together in wet conditions. She initially emerged the stronger after a one-hour rain delay but lost the next two sets, repeatedly voicing her frustration as the French crowd rallied for the underdog.

After exchanging breaks of serve in the seventh and eight games, the first set went to a tie break in which No12 seed Safina squandered key opportunities. An unforced Sharapova error on the forehand gifted the No13 seed two set-points at 6-4. But Sharapova responded with an audacious drop shot to save the first and won the mini-break back in the next, her heavy hitting forcing Safina to place a backhand in the net to take it to 6-6. A forehand winner from Sharapaova moved her to set point on her own serve and she sealed the tie break 8-6.

If disappointed, Safina swiftly overcame it, breaking the world No1 in the first game of the second set. The spitting rain then strengthened to a downpour and when the players returned to court after an hour's delay, Safina saved a break point before stretching her lead to 2-0.

Sharapova rediscovered her forehand return in the fourth game of the set, setting up three break points. A frustrated Safina saved the first but could do nothing to stop a blistering return winner down the line at 15-40. Sharapova held her serve to edge ahead 3-2 - but only after Safina had wasted a chance to win another break point at 30-30, a wild forehand relieving the pressure on her opponent.

Safina then double-faulted at 30-30 in her next service game and Sharapova took advantage, sending a backhand winner down the line after manoeuvring her opponent out of position with some punishing groundstrokes. Sharapova served out her next service game to love, stretching her lead to 5-2 in the second set.

Sharapova served for the match at 5-3 but a resurgent Safina saved match point with a searing backhand and then fashioned a break-point opportunity at deuce through the gentlest of drop volleys. Another forehand error from Sharapova put Safina back in the match at 5-4. The 22-year-old held her serve to make it 5-5.

Another tie-break beckoned and as the sun finally began to shine in Paris, Sharapova's pressure looked likely to prove the difference. She secured the mini-break at 3-2, following up an aggressive return with a sensational drop shot to leave her fellow Russian floundering and facing defeat. An unforced error from Safina looked to have ended things at 5-2. But Sharapova double-faulted at 5-3 to offer Safina hope and the lower seed Russian held serve twice to edge ahead 6-5. Sharapova's cross-court backhand hit the net cord and sailed out to hand her opponent the second set.

Safina was soon playing catch-up again, losing her opening service game of the third set, but immediately broke back to love. The crowd flocked back to Court Suzanne Lenglen as an upset looked on the cards. Sharapova netted a giveaway forehand at 15-15 in the sixth game of the set and then a cross-court forehand on the run handed Safina two break points. Sharapova saved both, ending a long rally with a winning forehand on the line to take it to deuce. She then salvaged a third, but Safina made no mistake with a fourth opportunity to take a 4-2 lead. She held comfortably to stretch her lead to 5-2 and broke a visibly shattered Sharapova again to win the final set 6-2.

courtesy of: http://www.guardian.co.uk