Skipping the 2009 Australian Open will cost Maria Sharapova the spot in the Top 10.
The world number nine Sharapova has been a member of the Top 10 since July 5, 2004. However, the Russian will fall out of this elite group on the week of February 2, 2009, after 238 weeks.
The last time Sharapova ranked outside of the Top 10 was during the week of June 21, 2004 (No.15), prior to winning 2004 Wimbledon singles title. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)
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This is really sad but I know she’ll be back in that group in no time. Btw, I just checked the WTA schedule for this year (on Yahoo! sports) and I was surprised that I didn’t see on the list the Tier I tournament in Doha, where she won right after Aussie last year. The Amelia Island clay tourney is missing as well, where she is the defending champion. Could it be because of the trimming down of WTA tournaments?
Sha, great observation. The Qatar Total Open has been dropped from the schedule, while the Amelia Island tournament has been moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, FL and changed the sponsor. The new sponsor of the tournament is “The MPS Group” (Bausch and Lomb ended their sponsorship of the event after the 2008 tournament). The event will be now be called the MPS Group Championships.
By the way, the organization of the WTA tournaments has changed, and there are no longer Tier events. Here’s the new hierarchy.
As for Maria, I hope this difficult injury won’t affect her career too much, although the impact has already been significant, but it can always be worse.
Sucks so badly. I want Masha back in the game, she’s a legend.
Masha spices up every tournament, her place is definitely at least in the Top 10, at least.
Thanks for the info!
You’re welcome. 😉