Maria Sharapova withdraws from Wimbledon after thigh injury

On Saturday, Maria Sharapova announced that she would be withdrawing from the qualifiers of Wimbledon after failing to recover from a thigh injury she suffered during the Rome Maters tournament in May earlier this year.

Sharapova was banned for a period of two years initially by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which later reduced the ban to fifteen months following the Russian being adjudged of not being an intentional doper.

However, her ranking was not enough to earn her a spot in the French Open and the 30-year old was denied a wildcard entry by the organisers although she has already won the clay court championship twice. Following her French Open snub, Sharapova opted to earn a spot at Wimbledon by playing in the three-round qualifiers. 

However, the Russian star was handed a controversial wildcard for the WTA grasscourt event scheduled in Birmingham later this month which is a key tournament before Wimbledon. Following the injury though, Sharapova will not feature in the grasscourt event and will be hoping to get another wildcard entry into the US Open commencing in August this year which is the last Grand Slam of the current season.

"I look forward to meeting you there next year." she concluded.

Wimbledon rolled out the decision of broadcasting and ticketing the qualifiers for the first time just two weeks ago which according to the organisers was planned before Sharapova's inclusion in the event.