World No. 2 Maria Sharapova of Russia came down awkwardly after a serve in her quarterfinal match in Tokyo and fell to the court when her left ankle buckled.
Just minutes later, the ankle was swollen to twice its normal size and the three-time Grand Slam champion had to be helped out of the locker room and taken to a hospital for an MRI. On her website Sharapova said “good news is that the MRI showed no big damage in the ankle.”
She has pulled out of the China Open next week but hopes to play at the prestigious WTA Championships scheduled to begin October 25 in Istanbul.
The injury happened with Sharapova serving at 3-4 in the first set of a 2011 Wimbledon finals rematch against Petra Kvitova, which Kvitova won 6-3, 6-4.
