Maria Sharapova has decided to pull out of next week's US Open due to a shoulder injury. The 2006 champion at Flushing Meadows was seeded third for the tournament but she was unable to recover from an inflammation in her right shoulder. "I've done everything I could since Wimbledon to get myself ready but it just wasn't enough time," Sharapova said on her official Facebook page.
"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," she added. "It's certainly not an easy decision to make ahead of one of my favourite tournaments, but I know it's the right one that will get me back on the courts soon. I plan on taking the next few weeks off, receiving proper treatment and rehabilitation." The four-time Grand Slam winner has had to deal with shoulder injuries in the past, missing nine months after surgery in 2008.
Tournament director David Brewer said: "We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to her return to New York next year." Meanwhile Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska becomes the third seed and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia becomes the number 32 seed.
Sharapova's withdrawal from the last Grand Slam tournament of the year comes just a week after she decided to sack coach Jimmy Connors following just one game together. It's true that the match was a shocking defeat by American Sloane Stephens in her opening game at the Cincinnati Open. Sharapova managed to complete a career Grand Slam when she added the 2012 French Open title to her 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open triumphs.
With Sharapova out, the outright odds for the Women's US Open have changed significantly. Here's the situation for the top five favourites at Bet365:
Serena Williams - 4/6
Victoria Azarenka - 7/2
Na Li - 14/1
Petra Kvitova - 16/1
Agnieszka Radwanska - 16/1
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