Maria Sharapova, the highest paid female athlete in the world returned to the WTA after undergoing and recovering from a surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. The 24-year old played her first competitive match since August with partner Elena Vesnina at the BNP Paribas Open and ultimately lost to Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek after the first round. Sharapova has not played in doubles since 2005 and returned to the BNP Paribas after the seven-month hiatus, choosing the less demanding doubles competition over singles which would have definitely taken a greater toll on her shoulder.
Despite the loss Sharapova is optimistic, reminding everyone that her main intention for playing in the match was to test her newly-repaired shoulder.
“I just wanted to … test it out in a match situation and get a little different scenery than the practice court and play in front of the crowd, so that was exciting. The main goal for here was just to get out there and be in that atmosphere again,” the Russian player said.
Sharapova’s next goal is to overcome the next weeks which will be filled with days of playing two to three sets each day for seven days in a row.