Sharapova pulls out of Dubai Championships with viral infection

Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the Dubai Championships with a viral infection.

The fifth-ranked Sharapova said on Tuesday she has been battling a virus for several days and that it has “reached a point where I’m unable to compete.”

“This is really disappointing to me, but I do intend to come back to Dubai next year and hopefully have a great tournament,” she said.

Sharapova, who won this year’s Australian Open and last week’s Qatar Open, was seeded fifth in the tournament and was scheduled to start her campaign Tuesday against Hungary’s Agnes Szavay.

The Dubai Championships offers $1.5 million (Dh5.5m) in prize money and has attracted the six top-ranked players in the world.  (AP)