Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from March’s Miami Open after having a “small procedure” on her shoulder.

The five-time Grand Slam champion, 31, has struggled with an injury to her right shoulder since last summer.

She previously withdrew from January’s St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy and next month’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

“I am incredibly committed to getting back strong,” said Sharapova in a “little update” on Instagram.

“More importantly, without the pain I was playing with at the beginning of this year.”

Sharapova – who has previously had shoulder surgery – beat defending champion Caroline Wozniacki to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open in January before losing to Ashleigh Barty.

She had been building up the strength in the muscles surrounding the shoulder and the shoulder blade since the US Open last August, where she exited in the last 16.

“For 10 weeks post US Open, I focused on getting my rotator cuff and scapula strong to support a surgically repaired fraying tendon and a small labrum tear,” she said.

“Although my shoulder got strong, it didn’t help the pain on impact.

“After a few different opinions in a few different countries, last week I had a small procedure done, which will take a few weeks to heal.”

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