Maria Sharapova Won’t Play For Russia In Fed Cup Semifinal Match Against Serbia

Maria Sharapova has suffered several injuries in the last few years, including a shoulder injury that kept her from the Beijing Olympics and an ankle injury during the Australian Open.

Those sufferings are transferring to the 24-year-old Russian’s country. The superstar tennis player will miss playing for her country’s Fed Cup in their semifinal match against Serbia. However, the world No. 3 WTA player did add a point to her country’s quarterfinal match against Spain during the weekend. From the Russian Times:

“Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadya Petrova, Ekaterina Makarova and Vera Zvonareva will play in the semis,” Shamil Tarpischev, the Russian Fed Cup team’s coach, Shamil Tarpischev, told RIA-Novosti.“The problem with Sharapova is that all of her preparations for the tournaments are taking place in the US. So if she comes to the Fed Cup semi-final match, she won’t be able to have a normal adaptation or normal training. The period of three to five days isn’t enough to adapt.”

Despite winning three Grand Slams, Sharapova has never competed in an Olympics and she doesn’t want to miss the 2012 Games. She hasn’t been a staple in Russia’s Fed Cup team to begin with. She only competed in one of her two scheduled matches during the competition against Spain, withdrawing the second day due to a cold. She beat Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 6-1 the first day.

Russia will take on Serbia from April 21 and 22 for their semifinal match. Italy will compete against Czech Republic, the defending champions, for the other finals spot.