Sharapova, Halep pull out of Brisbane International

Defending champion Maria Sharapova and top seed Simona Halep pulled out of the Brisbane International Tuesday citing injuries, depriving the contest of two of its main drawcards. Sharapova withdrew from the season-opening event with a left forearm injury, saying it was a precautionary move ahead of the Australian Open later this month. "I hurt my forearm in practice a couple of days ago," the world number four and third seed said in a statement. Sharapova's decision not to risk her Australian Open campaign comes after the latter half of her 2015 season was wrecked by injuries. Sharapova was joined on the sidelines at Brisbane by Romanian world number two Halep later Tuesday, who blamed a left leg injury for her decision to pull out.
Source: AFP