Russia will be missing Maria Sharapova and maybe their coach for this weekend's Fed Cup semi-final against the US while defending champions Italy face a daunting task against France.
World No. 2 Sharapova has pulled out of the US clash in Stowe, Vermont, saying she was not match fit, having initially agreed to make her Fed Cup debut in the hardcourt semi.
In a statement posted on her Web site on Tuesday, the 2006 US Open champion said she had a "tremendous amount of swelling" and doctors advised her to rest her shoulder for the next 10 days.
PHOTO: AP
"I know this withdrawal is very frustrating for all my Russian fans, but I promise you it is way more frustrating for me," Sharapova said. "Nothing would [have] made me happier than beating the Americans on American soil."
Sharapova has been suffering with a shoulder injury since April but Russian tennis officials have accused her of being selfish and questioned whether her US entourage had influenced the decision.
Russia's Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev could also be forced to miss the tie after he said he had been denied a US visa.
Tarpishchev has asked the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to move the tie to a neutral country and even considered boycotting the event.
"The Americans always like to talk all about human rights and democracy but they are the first ones to deny others the same rights," he said.
A spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow said Tarpishchev's visa application was being processed by US authorities in Washington.
In the other semi on Castellaneta Marina's clay, France visit Italy without Wimbledon singles runners-up Marion Bartoli after captain Georges Goven turned down her request to be accompanied by her father and coach, Walter.
Goven instead picked Amelie Mauresmo, who lost her Wimbledon crown when she was beaten by Nicole Vaidisova in the fourth round, as well as Tatiana Golovin, Nathalie Dechy and Severine Bremond.
Italy, who hammered China 5-0 in the Fed Cup quarters, know they will have to play substantially better than they did at Wimbledon if they are to have any chance of defending their title in the final in September.
Francesca Schiavone, Tathiana Garbin, and Roberta Vinci were dumped out in the second round while Mara Santangelo lost in round three to Mauresmo, whom she could face again over the weekend program.
"I really want to be part of the adventure, and help the girls reach the final," Mauresmo told www.fedcup.com. "Fed Cup could be a good way for me to get going; I love the team spirit of it."
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later