Maria Sharapova's hopes of featuring at Wimbledon have been dashed after the Russian confirmed in a Facebook post she will miss the entire grass-court season due to injury.
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After being denied a wildcard for the French Open on her return from a 15-month doping ban, former world number one Sharapova had been due to enter the Wimbledon qualifying event in a bid to compete in the event she won in 2004.
However, the 30-year-old confirmed on Saturday that she is now set to be out of action until late July as a result of the thigh problem that forced her to retire from a second-round match in Rome last month.
In a post on her official Facebook account, Sharapova wrote: "After an additional scan, the muscle tear that I sustained in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to compete in the grass court tournaments I was scheduled to play.
"I want to thank the LTA for their amazing support on my return and providing me with a Birmingham wild card [for the Aegon Classic], a tournament which I hope many of you will be able to attend.
"I look forward to meeting you there next year. I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford [at the Bank of the West Classic]."
After an additional scan, the muscle tear that I sustained in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to compete in the...
Posted by Maria Sharapova on Saturday, 10 June 2017
Sharapova made her comeback on the WTA Tour in April, having been banned for taking meldonium at the 2015 Australian Open after the substance had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.
The five-time grand slam winner was initially suspended for two years, but saw that sanction reduced following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who accepted she was not "an intentional doper". On her return, Sharapova reached the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open, but then made an early exit in Madrid before being injured in Rome.