World number three Maria Sharapova on Thursday announced on her website that she has to pull out of the Beijing Olympics due to shoulder injury.
"After yesterday's match I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder," said Sharapova, who walked over the ongoing Montreal Cup third round match against Japanese Ai Sugiyama.
"After taking a few different exams and MRIs this morning, the doctors found two small tears in the tendons of my shoulder. I'm currently packing up really quick to hop on the plane and head to New York for a second opinion but I wanted to let all of you know first that there's no chance of me competing in Beijing.
"There are so many mixed feelings because last night they were almost positive there was something wrong with my nerve, which could have ultimately been much more serious.
"But after the tests this morning, for the first time in a while, they were able to give me a different answer and a different problem.
"But on the other hand this is something that needs a lot of time to heal, which really hurts me to say that I have to miss the Olympics."
Playing her first match since a shock second-round defeat by compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva at Wimbledon in June, Sharapova twice received treatment on her shoulder during her three-hour battle with Poland's Marta Domachowska in Montreal on Wednesday.
"The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything," she added on www.mariasharapova.com.
The Olympic Games are scheduled for Aug. 8-24.
(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2008)