Maria Sharapova Pulls Out Of Brisbane International Tennis Event To Prepare For Australian Open

Maria Sharapova pulled out of the Brisbane International, citing an injury and a desire to stay fresh for the upcoming Australian open.

The French Open champion, Sharapova also pulled out of an exhibition in South Korea because of an injury to her collarbone. The tennis champion said she didn’t want to risk further injury, so she pulled out of Brisbane International as a precaution, BBC Sport reported.

“I don’t want to jeopardize what I’ve gained in the off-season so far,” said Maria Sharapova, currently ranked No. 2 in the world.

Sharapova has quite a run to protect. In 2012, she not only won the French Open but also reached the final of the Australian Open and semifinal of the US Open.

“I still have quite a bit of time to prepare for Australia,” Sharapova said. “I’m on the right track, been training really well.”

Sharapova had been experiencing some inflammation around her collarbone and has been unable to hit a serve, Reuters reported. On Monday, she spoke with optimism about the upcoming season, saying that pulling out of the Brisbane International was a smart move.

“I had a bit of inflammation in my collarbone. My doctor in New York told me I couldn’t really do much overhead training for about a week,” Sharapova said.

“So to be fair, I haven’t really given myself a chance to pretty much hit any serves or anything over my head. Just been practicing groundstrokes.

“So I just kind of ran out of time here.”

This isn’t the first time that Maria Sharapova pulls out of the Brisbane International. She also withdrew from last year’s event to prepare for the Australian Open.