Sharapova to return next week in Warsaw

LONGBOAT KEY, Fla., May 12 (UPI) -- Maria Sharapova, who has missed about nine months of tennis due to a shoulder injury, said she would play in next week's WTA's Warsaw Open in Poland.

Sharapova has been a top 10-ranked player -- including a stint at No. 1 a year ago -- for much of the past five years but she hasn't played singles competitively since last August and has seen her ranking fall to No. 65.

She announced in a Web site posting Monday that she would play next week in Warsaw.

"I know it is going to take me a while to get back into the groove of playing tournaments and matches but I am so excited to be competing again," Sharapova wrote.

Sharapova was diagnosed in August with a torn rotator cuff, an injury apparently sustained in April. In September Sharapova said she was sitting out the rest of the year because of the injury.

"Although it has not been an easy process these last few months, I really believe it's made me a much stronger person in so many areas of my life, professionally and personally," Sharapova said on her Web site.