Maria Sharapova Withdraws From Brisbane International Due to Injury

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from her season-opening event at the Brisbane International because of an injury to her left forearm.

Sharapova, the defending champion, was scheduled to play fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova on Tuesday at the Australian Open warmup event but withdrew hours before the match.

She said she’d hurt her forearm in practice a couple of days earlier and needed to withdraw as a precaution ahead of the Australian Open, the first major of the season which starts on January 18 in Melbourne.