Tour of duty takes its toll on injured Maria Sharapova
Not yet 21, the triple grand-slam tournament winner has arrived in Florida without her rackets, the victim of a punishing schedule
View All Photos ›Perhaps an explanation lies in the fact that Sharapova has been putting her body through too much stress. Since Boxing Day, she has clocked up a staggering 50,000-plus air miles, departing from Los Angeles via Singapore to Hong Kong for her chosen warm-up for the Australian Open; on to Melbourne, where she won the grand-slam title in circumstances that stretched her to the limit; to Tel Aviv for a tumultuous first Fed Cup appearance against Israel; back to Los Angeles for a stopover before flying to Doha (where she ran a fever but won the title); on to Dubai, where she had to withdraw, before returning to LA and getting behind the wheel to drive to Indian Wells, where she played in pain in the later part of last week and lost, feebly, in the semi-finals. Source