Fantastic news for the tennis fans in Brisbane as Maria Sharapova decided to accept a wildcard to compete in the local event. The Russian beauty pulled out from the recent Hawaii Open after she played the exhibition in Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Maria is quite injury-prone and therefore there were some doubts about her fitness ahead of the upcoming Australian Open where she needs to receive a wild card to compete in the main draw.
However, Maria obtained a wildcard in Brisbane and in theory she is still scheduled to play in the Kooyong Classic. The Russian commented: “While it is about results for me it is more about how I feel day to day, making sure my shoulder holds up but I am definitely up for that test.”
“It’s a fresh start after a tough last season. There were a lot of ups and downs, there were times when I was ready but the shoulder wasn’t. But I have had a fairly good off season and I am motivated to compete. At this point in my career when I have that feeling, it’s a good sign.”
The Brisbane International will commence next week and the line-up is already glorious with the likes of Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka, and Karolina Pliskova (the defending champion) among the top names.
Maria Sharapova’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently ranked no.133, the Russian played her last match on the 26th of August when she had to bow to Serena Williams 6-1 6-1 in the 1st round in U.S. Open.
Naomi Osaka’s ranking and performance in 2019
At the moment ranked no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 27th of October when she defeated Petra Kvitova 7-61 4-6 6-4 in the round robin in Shenzhen.
Currently, this season Osaka has a 40-11 win-loss record. Osaka clinched 3 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Osaka and in Beijing.
Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka played each other 1 time. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka.
The last time that they competed against each other, Naomi Osaka won 6-4 6-4 in the 1st round in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) in March 2018.
Ashleigh Barty’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked world no.1, Barty played her last match on the 10th of November when she surrendered to Kristina Mladenovic 2-6 6-4 7-61 in the Rubber 3 in FRA 2.
Currently, this year Ashleigh has a 52-12 win-loss record. Barty conquered 4 titles in 2019 in Miami, at the French Open, in Birmingham and in Shenzhen. Barty was the runner-up in Sydney and in Beijing.
Karolina Pliskova’s ranking and performance in 2019
Now ranked no.2, the Czech played her last match on the 2nd of November when she had to bow to Ashleigh Barty 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the semifinal in Shenzhen.
At the moment, this season Pliskova has a 51-16 win-loss record. Karolina clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Brisbane, in Rome, in Eastbourne and in Zhengzhou. The Czech was the finalist in Miami.
Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova played each other 5 times. The head to head is 3-2 for Barty.
The last time that they played each other, Ashleigh Barty won 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the semifinal in Shenzhen (WTA Finals) on the 2nd of November 2019.
Here the highlights.
