Sharapova to withdraw?
According to this report from the Daily Mail, Maria Sharapova is tired and considering withdrawing from next weeks Sony Ericsson Open, the unofficial “fifth major.” She went into Indian Wells having not lost a match this year, but she fell to Kuznetsova in the semis in three sets. Sharapova claims that she is a victim of “burn-out” having flown approximately 50,000 miles already this year.
This would not be good for the WTA, as Henin, Venus, and Serena didn’t play this week in Indian Wells and Sharapova already missed Dubai because of an illness. She is, without a doubt, women’s tennis most recognizable player and anytime she misses a big event it is huge news. No one is saying she should play a Jankovic-esque schedule, but missing the SEO in a year where she is playing arguably the best tennis on Tour, would be a hard pill to swallow. If I know one thing about Maria, it is that she is as competitive and tough as anyone, so if she skips the tournament it won’t be just because.
And this opens again the debate about the WTA’s calendar. What’s your opinion about that ?
I agree with you, if Maria decides to skip Miami, it’s not just because.
That’s a good question Fabienne…the tour calendar is something they are addressing but right now there is still no good solution. We want the best players to be available to play on the bigger stages, but we don’t want them getting hurt either.