Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova yesterday said that she still has “a lot of fire” as she attempts to resurrect her career after an injury-plagued year.
The five-time major winner is to open her campaign this year in Brisbane, Australia, after being awarded a wild card by organizers in preparation for the Australian Open later this month.
“To be fair when I was younger I never saw myself playing past 30, but I still feel there is a lot in me to give,” the 32-year-old Russian told reporters. “I still have a lot of fire in me and I am big competitor.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Sharapova has not played since a first-round loss to career-long rival Serena Williams at the US Open in August last year.
She has slipped to No. 133 in the world rankings after a season ruined by a shoulder injury that limited her to 15 competitive matches.
“As long as the shoulder stays healthy and my body allows me to, I hope there is a lot of time left for me,” Sharapova said.
She won the Brisbane title in 2015 and joins a high-class field for next week’s event spearheaded by Australian world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and reigning Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka.
World No. 2 Karolina Pliskova is also playing, as are fellow top-10 stars Elina Svitolina, Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens.
“It’s a fresh start after a tough last season,” Sharapova said. “There were a lot of ups and downs, there were times when I was ready, but the shoulder wasn’t. But I have had a fairly good off-season and I am motivated to compete. At this point in my career when I have that feeling, it’s a good sign.”
The Brisbane International starts on Monday next week, with Sharapova then scheduled to play the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, before the opening Grand Slam of the year from Jan. 20.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but