Injured Maria Sharapova withdraws from Olympics

MONTREAL (Reuters) - World number three Maria Sharapova pulled out of the Beijing Olympics on Thursday after an MRI scan on her right shoulder revealed two small tears.

"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," Sharapova said on her website.

"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 August 8-24.

The Russian was examined by doctors after withdrawing from the Montreal Cup late on Wednesday evening with a sore shoulder following a 7-5 5-7 6-2 win over Poland's Marta Domachowska.

They advised Sharapova she would need a lot of time away from the game to let the injury to heal, which puts the 2006 U.S. Open champion's chances of playing in this year's final grand slam, starting on August 25 in New York, in doubt.

"After yesterday's match I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder," said Sharapova.

"After taking a few different exams and MRIs this morning, the doctors found two small tears in the tendons of my shoulder.

MIXED FEELINGS

"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 Domachowska in Montreal on Wednesday.

While her groundstrokes were crisp and powerful the Australian Open champion struggled with her serve, committing 17 double faults.

Sharapova said her shoulder had been troubling her since she played at Indian Wells, California in March.

After the results of tests in Montreal, the Russian was flying straight to New York to have the injury examined by sports physician Dr David Alchek, who will provide a second opinion and advise her on how much time she should take off.

(Additional reporting by Matthew Cronin, editing by Ken Ferris)