Sharapova, Citing Shoulder Injury, Will Miss Open

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Maria Sharapova has played only one match on tour since her second-round loss at Wimbledon in June.

After an uncharacteristically tumultuous summer, third-seeded Maria Sharapova announced Wednesday night that she was withdrawing from next week's United States Open because of a right shoulder injury.

"Maria has informed us that she will be unable to compete at the U.S. Open this year due to a right shoulder bursitis and has withdrawn from the tournament," the tournament director, David Brewer, said in a statement. "We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to her return to New York next year."

Sharapova later posted on Facebook: "Withdrawing from the U.S. Open has been a really tough decision to make. I have done everything I could since Wimbledon to get myself ready but it just wasn't enough time. I have done many tests, received several opinions and it all comes down to taking the proper amount of time to heal my shoulder injury properly."

With Sharapova's withdrawal, No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska will move to the No. 3 seed, and all subsequent seeds will move up a spot. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia will become the new No. 32 seed and a lucky loser from the final round of the qualifying tournament will take Sharapova's slot in the 128-player draw.

The American Mardy Fish also withdrew from the tournament Wednesday, citing continuing health concerns. Fish has struggled with physical and mental health problems.

Sharapova, 26, was first affected by right shoulder problems five years ago and had surgery to repair two tears in her rotator cuff in October 2008. When she returned to the tour 10 months later, she struggled with inconsistent serving.

But Sharapova, the 2006 United States Open champion, steadily returned to previous form, returning to the No. 1 ranking and completing the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open last year. She made the French Open final again this year, but lost to Serena Williams.

After that loss, Sharapova's season turned inside out. At a news conference for Wimbledon, the normally composed Sharapova lashed out at Williams for comments she had made in an article in Rolling Stone and directed attention toward the marital status of Williams's coach and boyfriend, Patrick Mouratoglou.

With Sharapova dating the Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov, who had been previously coached by Mouratoglou as well as romantically linked with Williams, the episode became a spectacle and an uncharacteristic distraction for Sharapova.

Perhaps to the dismay of the British tabloids, Sharapova lost in Wimbledon's second round to the 131st-ranked qualifier, Michelle Larcher de Brito. After Wimbledon, Sharapova announced that she was parting with her coach of two and a half years, Thomas Hogstedt. She then announced the splashy hire of the eight-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors, who had little association with the modern women's game.

Sharapova was forced to withdraw from her next two tournaments, however, in Stanford, Calif., and Toronto, because of a hip injury she sustained during her loss at Wimbledon.

Their first match together resulted in a loss to 17th-ranked Sloane Stephens in the first round of the Western & Southern Open last week in Mason, Ohio, leading Sharapova to end her partnership with Connors.

"It's not the right fit at this time in her career," Max Eisenbud, Sharapova's agent, said in a statement.

Though she seemed to have found a sturdy interim replacement coach in her previous coach, her father, Yuri Sharapov, the distractions continued. As she arrived in New York to prepare for the year's final Grand Slam event, The Times of London reported on Tuesday that Sharapova was planning to change her surname for the tournament to Sugarpova, to promote her boutique line of candies. Eisenbud dismissed the report Tuesday.

Despite the off-court circus, Sharapova continued preparing for the tournament, practicing as recently as Wednesday afternoon in Louis Armstrong Stadium with her father looking on.

But about seven hours later, Sharapova's withdrawal was announced, and her unpredictable tournament lead-up had turned sour.

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