Maria Sharapova pulled out of the U.S. Open for the second time in three years Sunday, withdrawing on the eve of the tournament because of a lingering right leg injury.

The U.S. Tennis Association announced the withdrawal via a press release about the same time that Sharapova, who won the title in New York in 2006, posted the news on her Facebook page.

“Unfortunately I will not be able to compete in this (year’s U.S.) Open. I have done everything possible to be ready but it was just not enough time,” Sharapova’s message said. “To all my amazing fans, I will be back in the Asian swing in a few weeks and look forward to finishing the year healthy and strong.”

In 2013, Sharapova skipped the U.S. Open because of a right shoulder injury. She also missed the Grand Slam tournament played on hard courts in Flushing Meadows in 2008, when she was off the tour for about 10 months because of surgery on her right shoulder.

Sharapova, 28, hasn’t played a match on tour since losing to No. 1-ranked Serena Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals in July. She withdrew from hard-court tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati in August, citing a right leg strain.

“From a player’s perspective you always have to believe in the ability to go through the little things that you might have. Physically, that’s part of sports, unfortunately,” Sharapova said this month. “There’s no athlete who’s ever 100 percent healthy.”

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Sharapova is a five-time major champion who was going to be seeded No. 3 for the U.S. Open, where play begins Monday. She was drawn to possibly face Williams, who is bidding for tennis’ first calendar-year Grand Slam since 1988, in the semifinals.

The USTA said that Daria Kasatkina, an 18-year-old Russian who is ranked 133rd, will replace Sharapova in the main draw.

FOR THE FIRST time since 2007, the men’s final could be played on a Sunday.

That’s the traditional final day of a Grand Slam tennis tournament, including in New York, until five straight years of rain, followed by a two-year schedule change partly prompted by that wet weather, pushed the last match to Monday. Now, under the U.S. Tennis Association’s new TV contract with ESPN, the sport’s fourth major of the season will look like the first three.

Gone for good is “Super Saturday,” the old format pairing the men’s semis and women’s final. The men get their desired day off between the last two rounds, and the women’s semis are now in Thursday prime time.


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