Maria Sharapova pulls out of the French Open due to shoulder injury
MARIA SHARAPOVA has been forced to pull out of the French Open.
The former champion at Roland Garros announced the news with less than a week to go until the tournament.
Sharapova, 32, has not played since pulling out of an event in Russia due to a long-standing shoulder problem but it was hoped she would be back in time for the Open.
She said: “Sometimes the right decisions aren’t always the easiest ones.”
In February, shortly after pulling out of the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy and the BNP Paribas Open, the former world number one had a small operation on her right shoulder.
It was not the first time that Sharapova had surgery on her shoulder and she took to Instagram to share the news with her followers.
At the time, she wrote: “I am incredibly committed to getting back strong. More importantly, without the pain I was playing with at the beginning of this year.”
Winning the Grand Slam in 2012 and 2014, the French Open was Sharapova’s first back in 2017 following a 15-month ban for taking the banned drug meldonium.
Last year, she reached the French Open quarter-finals, losing 6-2, 6-1 to third seed Garbine Muguruza.