Shrieka finally playing points with serves, looks towards March return

Maria Sharapova, who withdrew from the Paris Open + Dubai, provided an update on her Weekly Doodles about the progress of her recovery:

I have been training in Florida the last few weeks and really working hard on getting the strength back in my arm. It's really amazing how you can do all the exercises and rehab in the world but nothing substitutes the time you spent on court running and hitting hundreds of balls. The biggest lesson I have learned throughout this whole process is that it takes so much patience to get back to where you were physically. You are never really going to forget 'how' to hit a tennis ball but what you do forget is how much work and repitition you must put into every single day in order to get back to where you were. And the only way to get back into good shape is by playing tennis. Unfortunately just because the doctor fixes the problem and gives you the green light to practice doesn't mean that you can just go out there playing tournaments. Yesterday I played my first few points with serves in about 6 months which was pretty exciting! Right now I'm aiming for Palm Springs, or Miami, depending on how things shape up. I cannot wait to get back to playing tournaments

It's pretty crazy that Shrieka just played "her first few points with serves in about 6 months". The recovery has been pretty slow at best but it's better to take it easy on the shoulder than rushing back. It's also interesting after all the speculation about her status recently we're finally getting some actual statements about her the withdrawal and her progress.

In any case, the earliest we'll see her looks to be March.

Heal on Shrieka, heal on.

(image via mariasharapova.com)