Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova confirmed on Saturday that she would not play at the Wimbledon tournament due to her leg injury contracted at Rome and would return to the tennis court on July 31 in Stanford, California, USA.
Speaking to the media, Sharapova confirmed she will not line up in the tournaments after she has a negative result on her muscle. “A new scan shows that the muscle tear contracted in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to line up in the tournaments on the turf in my program,” Sharapova said.
“I want to thank the LTA for its incredible support by granting me a wild card for Birmingham. I look forward to seeing the next year.” she added.
Victory on the London lawn in 2004, Sharapova, currently at 178th world player, she was competing to qualify to enter the final table at Wimbledon. On May 18, she had received an invitation from the Birmingham Field Tournament (BFT) on June 17-25, which usually serves as a preparation for Wimbledon.
Last year, Sharapova had been tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open. A product added on the first day of the same month to the list of banned substances. However, the tournament, which began on January 26, 2016, had been suspended for two years by the ITF. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had reduced Sharapova’s penalty to 15 months.
After a 15 months suspension for meldonium doping, the 30-year-old tennis player returned to the tennis court at the Stuttgart tournament. She reached the semi-finals, and then she won a game in Madrid and another in Rome this week before dropping in the second round due to her leg injury.
Maria Sharapova tells her positive meldonium result during the press conference. (Source:www.tennis.com)
Regarding her future, Sharapova with the five Grand Slam victories stressed that she woud continue the work on her convalescence and my next tournament on the program is that of Stanford, from July 31. As a result, the Russian crowned at the US Open in 2006, will only be able to count on an invitation from the American organizers to play the last Grand Slam of the Year in New York.
