Maria Sharapova Withdraws From U.S. Open Due To Knee Injury

Maria Sharapova has excited the U.S. Open tennis tournament before it even started, citing a lingering knee injury, MSN is reporting.

This will be the second time Sharapova has missed the Flushing Meadows tournament in three years, having skipped out in 2013 because of a shoulder injury. Maria also missed the 2008 U.S. Open. She won the Grand Slam event in 2006.

Speaking directly to her fans in a Facebook post, Maria explained that she’s going to have to sit out the U.S. Open again this year.

“Unfortunately I will not be able to compete in this years US Open. I have done everything possible to be ready but it was just not enough time. To all my amazing fans, I will be back in the Asian swing in a few weeks and look forward to finishing the year healthy and strong.”

Calling Sharapova’s U.S. Open exit a “bitter end to an already tough summer,” ESPN writer Melissa Isaacson points out the difficulties Maria has faced so far this year.

• In July, Sharapova lost the Serena Williams — for the 17th straight time — in the Wimbledon semifinals, a loss which the Indian Express also attributes to the same leg injury that caused her to pull out of the U.S. Open.
• Since Wimbledon, Sharapova has also withdrawn from hard-court tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati — tournaments that are considered warm-ups for the U.S. Open.
• In fact, Sharapova has not played a single match since losing to Williams at Wimbledon.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Sharapova explained her frustrations this injury-plagued season has caused for her.

“It’s always the adjustment of being a professional athlete in a sport that requires many weeks out of the year to compete at a high level. Don’t always know where some things come from but sometimes you have to make adjustments to be healthy and ready for the big ones. It only gets tougher as you get older.”

Earlier this month, Sharapova talked about how injuries have plagued her career, like they do for any professional athlete.

“From a player’s perspective you always have to believe in the ability to go through the little things that you might have. Physically, that’s part of sports, unfortunately. There’s no athlete who’s ever 100 percent healthy.”

Maria Sharapova’s spot in the U.S. Open has been given to 133rd-ranked Daria Kasatkina, an 18-year-old Russian.

[Image courtesy of: Getty Images/Julian Finney]