Bitter end to Sharapova's already tough summer
— -- NEW YORK -- Maria Sharapova's withdrawal from the US Open on Sunday is much more than a bad break or singular setback.
This latest low point for the No. 3-ranked player seems instead to be part of the pattern for one of the most marketable and yet snakebitten athletes in women's tennis.
Saying she simply did not have enough time to recover sufficiently from a lingering leg injury, Sharapova, the 2006 US Open champion, pulled out of the final Grand Slam tournament of the year for the second time in three years, wrapping up another tough summer. In July, she lost to Serena Williams for the 17th straight time in the Wimbledon semifinals, then withdrew from hard-court tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati in August with a right leg strain.
Recently, however, things seemed to be turning around for Sharapova. Last week, she attended the opening of her pop-up shop, Sugarpova, a candy line, in New York City. And once again, she appeared atop Forbes' list of highest-earning female athletes for the 11th year in a row with royalties of $29.7 million, beating Williams' total of $24.6 million.
But on the tennis court, Williams has been Sharapova's biggest sore spot.
Although Sharapova is a five-time Grand Slam champion and one of the best fighters in the game, she is 2-18 against Williams, whom the Russian would have met in the US Open semis had the two players made it that far.
Like the rest of top women's players, Sharapova appears to be no closer to gaining ground on Williams, who is aiming to win her 22nd major title and capture the calendar year Grand Slam.
Though Sharapova has won at least one singles title a year from 2003-15, injuries continue to cloud her career. A shoulder injury and subsequent reconstructive surgery on her serving side sidelined her for most of 2008 and part of 2009. She made it to the fourth round of the US Open in 2010 and returned to the top 10 in 2011, reaching her first Grand Slam final in three years at Wimbledon.
In 2013, Sharapova withdrew from the US Open with her third shoulder surgery, ending her season.
The next season, Sharapova, seeded seventh, captured the French Open, defeating Simona Halep in the finals. With another chance to finally end her losing streak against Williams, Sharapova suffered a straight-sets loss to the American in the 2015 Australian Open finals.
Despite her latest setback, Sharapova promises to be back stronger than ever.
"To all my amazing fans," Sharapova said in a statement on her Facebook page, "I will be back in the Asian swing in a few weeks and look forward to finishing the year healthy and strong."
