Maria Sharapova was Russia's first-ever female flag bearer at the Olympic Games. Sharapova won't be representing Russia in this weekend's Fed Cup semifinal in Sochi.
The world No. 2 has pulled out of this weekend's semifinal against Germany, citing a leg injury that "didn't allow me to prepare for the match to the full extent."
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Sharapova announced her withdrawal in a Facebook post suggesting she hasn't had enough training time to prepare for the tie.
"Withdrawing from this weekend's Fed Cup was no easy decision. You probably haven't seen me post any pictures on court, that is simply because there haven't been many," Sharapova wrote in her post. "I just started a couple of days ago and going to work myself up to creating a good healthy base.
I will be following the girls on my live stream this weekend, cheering them on, as I try to be ready for next week's tournament in Stuttgart."
The 27-year-old Sharapova has not played a match since her surprising loss to 97th-ranked Russian wild card Daria Gavrilova in Miami. She has won the Stuttgart title three years in a row, including a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Ana Ivanovic in the 2014 Stuttgart final, and is aiming to defend her title.
Sharapova scored straight-sets wins over both Urszula Radwanska and Agnieszka Radwanska leading Russia to a 4-0 victory over host Poland in the Fed Cup opening round in February.
Sharapova was the centerpiece of the Russian Federation's ad campaign for this weekend's semifinal on the red clay of Sochi.
In her absence, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina lead Russia against a formidable German team that boasts 11th-ranked Andrea Petkovic, Charleston champion Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges.