Maria Sharapova withdraws from Italian Open

Russian Tennis player Maria Sharapova, who has been suffering from a right shoulder injury, announced to withdraw from the Italian Open.

Viktoria Kuzmova, ranked 45th is set to replace the three-time champion Sharapova, Rome organisers announced.

The former world number 1 had pulled out of the Russian St. Petersburg Open in January after winning the first-round match after she complained of shoulder pain caused by a fraying tendon and small labrum tear.

The three-time Grand Slam winner said that she would need a few weeks to heal after going through a small procedure on her right shoulder.

Not only did she withdraw from St. Petersburg, she also had to withdraw from the Stuttgart Open and the Madrid Open prior to Rome.

The 28th-ranked player is also in doubt for the French Open, which begins at the end of May.

Sharapova's best finish in a Grand Slam in the period since came in the 2018 French Open where she lost in the quarter-final to Garbine Muguruza.