Russia's Maria Sharapova trains on the
practice courts at Wimbledon, ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships
in south London June 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- World number three Maria
Sharapova on Thursday announced on her website that she has to pull out of the
Beijing Olympics due to shoulder injury.
"After yesterday's match I knew there was something
seriously wrong with my shoulder," said Sharapova, who walked over the ongoing
Montreal Cup third round match against Japanese Ai Sugiyama.
Russia's Maria Sharapova reacts during
her match against compatriot Dinara Safina during the French Open tennis
tournament at Roland Garros in Paris June 2, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"After taking a few different exams and MRIs this
morning, the doctors found two small tears in the tendons of my shoulder. 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.
"There are so many mixed feelings because last night
they were almost positive there was something wrong with my nerve, which could
have ultimately been much more serious.
"But after the tests this morning, for the first time
in a while, they were able to give me a different answer and a different
problem.
"But on the other hand this is something that needs a
lot of time to heal, which really hurts me to say that I have to miss the
Olympics."
Playing her first match since a shock second-round
defeat by compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva at Wimbledon in June, Sharapova twice
received treatment on her shoulder during her three-hour battle with Poland's
Marta Domachowska in Montreal on Wednesday.
"The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more
sad than anything," she added on www.mariasharapova.com.
BEIJING, June 3 -- Top seed Maria Sharapova was shown the
exit door at the French Open on Tuesday, when she lost to Russian compatriot
Dinara Safina in the fourth round.
The 13th seed Safina, younger sister of former men's world
No. 1 Marat Safin, won 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2 in two hours and 52 minutes. Full story
