Maria Sharapova will headline the Russian team in their upcoming Fed Cup final against the Czech Republic in November.
The presence of Sharapova was confirmed by Russian Fed Cup captain Anastasia Myskina. Earlier this year the world No.3 returned to Fed Cup competition for the first time since 2012 when she helped Russia to a 4-1 win over Poland. Sharapova must compete in the Fed Cup in order to participate at next year’s Rio Olympics according to regulations. She was due to feature in her country’s semi-final against Germany, but was forced to pull out due to a leg injury.
The 28-year-old will return to action at the Wuhan Open next week. Sharapova hasn’t played a competitive match since Wimbledon due to the injury. The five-time Grand Slam champion recently spoke about her excitment of returning to the tour.
“I’ve been working hard to get myself ready to compete again and I can’t wait to get back out“. Said Sharapova.
The other Russian players joining Sharapova in the team for the final are Ekaterina Makarova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina. Speaking about the selection, Russian captain Myskina called for the team to work together and thanked Svetlana Kuznetsova for her past contributions.
“It is very valuable that all the girls immediately agreed to defend the colours of the Russian flag. Along with the girls who will compete in the final, I want to acknowledge the contributions of Svetlana Kuznetsova, who helped win the crucial points in the previous matches”. She said.
The tie will take place at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic on November 15-16th. The Czech Republic will be seeking to claim their second consecutive title. Last year they defeated Germany in the final (3-1). The last time the two countries faced each other was in the 2011 final where the Czech Republic won 3-2.
Since 2004 7 out of the last 11 Fed Cup champions have been either Russia or the Czech Republic.
