Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova has rather poetically conveyed the message that she will miss playing in the final grand slam of the calendar year, but she wants to return with a renewed vigour in 2016.
The 28-year-old took to Facebook to announce the news of her pulling out of the US Open 2015, and it is believed that the reason for the same has been her persistent injury in the right knee.
The World No 3 wrote that she felt a bit odd when she finished her training at Louis Armstrong Stadium – one of the venues of the US Open -- on the eve of the grand slam, that starts off on Monday.
After observing one of the little kids who came to witness her training at the venue, she penned down the thoughts: "Back to the kid, I just want to whisper in his ear, 'I am not only finished with practice, but my 2015 US Open is finished without any beginning'. It's my little secret but I don't want to let anyone down," the 2006 US Open winner wrote on her website.
In the post titled "Something I wrote in the car after practice today", Sharapova has stated that she is feeling not so good to leave the competition, without even starting it.
"I don't want to get up from this chair, but I know this is the end of my US Open campaign. I've got these eerie invisible elfs floating around my head, is this really an appropriate time for Harry Potter flashbacks? Come back later please!"
"I'm smiling now because perspective is charming and just fyi (for your information), I'm craving that little boy's ice cream cone. Guess I'll just have to find my way through midtown tonight, in search of that annoying truck melody," she added.
Sharapova could have met top seed Serena Williams in the semis of the tournament, if she and Serena had a smooth sailing in the competition until that stage. The Russian was slated to face World No 37 Daria Gavrilova of Australia in the opening round of the tournament.
However, the knee injury which she sustained after Wimbledon this year forced her to withdraw even from the Rogers Cup and the Cincinnati Masters, which were the lead-up tournaments to the US Open earlier this month.
She wrote on her facebook page:
Sharapova has been replaced by fellow compatriot Daria Kasatkina in the draw of the event.