The former World No. 1 tennis player Maria Sharapova plans to be 100 percent healthy by the upcoming tennis season, and assures fans that she will be poised to defend her Australian Open title as soon as January rolls around. According to Maria Sharapova's agent, Max Eisenbud, Sharapova has a set timeline for her recovery, and her recovery is going as planned. The Russian tennis star is slated to be hitting the court again on January 7, which will mark her first match back. This will be an exhibition match in Hong Kong.

It is believed that by entering back into the tennis season on January 7, Maria Sharapova will be able to keep herself in good shape so that she can slip right into the first grand slam of the year, which will begin on January 19 in Melbourne Australia. The Melbourne, Australia grand slam on January 19 is an important one for Maria, as it will involve depending her Australian Open title, and possibly even regaining her role as the World No. 1 tennis player. Sharapova previously held the World No. 1 ranking, but lost it when she had to bow out of the 2008 season early because of a shoulder injury.

Sharapova has been shelved for nearly five months now, after having torn her rotator cuff in a much earlier tournament match. She continued to play with the injured shoulder between April and July, unaware of the level of damage that had been done. It was an MRI scan that finally indicated that the injury was more than met the eye, and when it became apparent that Sharapova would be unable to heal while touring, she bowed out of numerous tournaments including the Beijing Olympics in China, and the U.S. Open. After bowing out from a number of tournaments because of the stress of the injury, Sharapova finally designed to bench herself for the remainder of the 2008 year.

The injury that benched Maria Sharapova forced her to slip in the World Tennis Association's standings, so she ended the season as the World No. 9 tennis player, rather than the World No. 1 that she represented before her injury. On the tour this season she did manage to win a total of three titles, the last of which came on April 13 in Florida. She finished with a 32 - 4 record, and earned almost $2 million dollars despite a disappointing finish to the season.

Before her romp in the Australian Open where she gained the title that she intends to maintain, Sharapova also took wins in the United States Open in 2006, and the Wimbledon tournament in 2004. Fans of Sharapova are prepared to cheer her through a productive season, as Maria seems ready and willing to jump right back into tournament play following several months of rest and recovery.

Related Posts

• Athlete Profiles: Chris Evert Chris Evert is perhaps one of the most well known female tennis stars who shot to popularity in the early 1970’s and rode the rocket well into the 1980’s. Known as a power player who was also incredibly consistent, one look at her record tells you just how good she......
• Are Your Tennis Shoes Ruining Your Game? One of the biggest problems facing beginning players is right under their nose, and they may not even realize what may be holding them back from success. The shoes you wear on the court can have a big impact on the way that you play the game and if you’re......
• Wilson K Six One Tennis Racket When it comes to tennis rackets, one of the most respected companies in the business is Wilson. They are known for making high quality equipment you can count on, and when it comes to getting the job done, there are few rackets that can compare. The Wilson K6 One Tennis......
• Carole Caldwell Graebner Remembered Carole Caldwell Graebner passed away at the age of sixty five following a brief but courageous battle with cancer on November 19, 2008. Carole Caldwell Graebner served as a chair of the United States Tennis Association's Fed Cup Committee. Graebner was born on June 24 in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,......
• Tips for Beginning Tennis Players If you are interested in learning how to play tennis, there are a few things you need to know before you get started. By having the proper foundation in this sport, you can be assured that you’ll learn properly and be able to play better as a result. Although this......

Online Stores

• Volkl Racquets Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Strings Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Junior Racquets Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Dunlop Racquets Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Franklin Badminton Discount Tennis Gear

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.



Categories:

News, Tennis, Tournaments and Championships

Tags:

australian open, australian open title, beijing olympics, five months, good shape, grand slam, january 19, maria sharapova, match, max eisenbud, melbourne australia, mri scan, remainder, rotator cuff, shoulder injury, tennis player, tennis season, tennis star, timeline, world tennis association