Maria Sharapova spoke about her shoulder injury that forced her to undergo a minor surgery in March. “With the shoulder, I mean, it’s something that I’ve had for a long time. I thought the last five months I handled well because I knew I was doing the right thing.
I was struggling in the Australian, St. Petersburg. I was finishing a match, and I was just not looking at my match, feeling happy winning or playing well. I was just thinking what I was going to do later after, in a few weeks, for my shoulder.
I think I handled it with a really good perspective. But this is certainly not easy. I got myself to a good enough place to be part of this event, not be out of the draw. But it was obviously not the way that I wanted to perform here.” Analyzing her withdrawal in January because of the shoulder issue, Sharapova added: “The way that I felt in St.
Petersburg, it wasn’t fun. Then just withdrawing and do like a Q&A in front of hundreds of families and kids, they probably paid a lot of money for them in order to come and watch me play. For me to withdraw, I just said, I don’t want to put anyone in that position.
I’m here to play. I don’t want to be in this pain. Next time I come here, I want to feel great. I want to do what I’m meant to be doing at the level I believe I can.”
