Injured Sharapova pulls out of St Petersburg Open

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova pulled out of the ongoing St Petersburg Open owing to an injury in the right shoulder.

The 31-year-old was due to play her second-round match against number 3 seed Daria Kesatkina but had to withdraw due to injury. Consequently, Kasatkina won the match by walkover and moved into the quarter-final of the event.

The former world number one said that despite making all the efforts, she could not make herself ready for the match.

"I tried to do everything possible to be able to be ready to compete this week, but my right shoulder continues to be an issue for me. I will meet with my team of doctors over the next few days to evaluate the situation, and I look forward to returning to completion as soon as possible," WTA quoted Sharapova, as saying.

"It was so special to play in front of my home crowd this week and I wish I could have continued competing in this fantastic tournament," she added.

Sharapova had made a smashing start to the tournament after registering a straight-sets victory over Daria Gavrilova of Australia. Before St Petersburg Open, Sharapova appeared in the recently concluded Australian Open where she ousted by Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the pre-quarters round of the women's singles event.