Could you imagine #MariaSharapova with a proper, working shoulder? Well, that has not been the case for the past decade as the Russian was never the same player ever since returning from the career-threatening shoulder injury back in 2009. “It's a day-by-day pain management situation,” said the five-time Major champion after her first-round win over Harriet Dart at the 2019 Australian Open.
Sharapova has recently announced her unfortunate withdrawal from the #BNPParibasOpen, regarded as the fifth biggest tournament in the sport, despite it being more than 20 days away which makes it sounds so unusual. This leads us to a series of unanswered questions: Is the shoulder issue acting up seriously for Maria again? Is the situation that serious? Is this her last year on tour?
Sharapova started the year at the Shenzhen Open where she reached the quarterfinals before retiring against Aryna Sabalenka due to a left thigh injury which hindered her movement. Despite her participation in Melbourne being a question mark, the former world number one defeated Caroline Wozniacki under the roof of the Rod Laver Arena to reach the second week of the tournament. She earned a commanding win over Daria Gavrilova in St. Petersburg, her first WTA win in her home country in more than 10 years.
“I have spoken about my shoulder openly in the last few weeks, months, years. It's definitely been an issue for the majority of last year and going into this year, as well.” Sharapova has never hidden her struggles of staying healthy, having been forced to endure through an injury-riddled 2018 which saw her having issues with her left forearm and shoulder as well. That problematic left forearm has been fiddling with her game ever since 2015.
It was also the same shoulder injury which forced the Russian to hand a walkover to compatriot Daria Kasatkina in a highly-anticipated second-round match at the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy and she will now sit out of action until the Miami Open, where she is still currently listed on the entry list.
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