Maria Sharapova will be participating in this year’s Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day on August 29th.

The annual event kicks off the 2009 US Open at the USTA Tennis Center in New York. Other personalities taking part in the full-day tennis and music festival are ATP player Andy Roddick, American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks, rising stars Honor Society and Justin Bieber, as well as comedian Will Ferrell.

Additional tennis players participating will be announced shortly. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova, now ranked 61st, declared that her troubled shoulder had fully healed and that she was ready to play competitively for the first time since her second-round loss at Wimbledon.

"I am a hundred percent," Sharapova said Wednesday night before making an appearance for the Newport Beach Breakers in their World Team Tennis match against Kansas City.

"I mean, if I wasn't at that point, I certainly wouldn't be playing. That's why I took my time and gave myself a chance to really go out there and to feel like I didn't have any excuses."

Despite the favorable outcome of the recovery from the career-threatening injury, Sharapova’s shoulder will continue to demand extra attention.

"It's not something you just stop when it feels good," said the Russian. "You have to keep working on it. You have to keep getting it stronger.

"For the rest of my career I'll be doing shoulder exercises. It won't be as fun as I want it to be. It's all a routine. But everyone has to do it. Everyone has injuries. It's part of the game."

Sharapova is scheduled to play the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, followed by the tournament in Los Angeles and the US Open. (source: ESPN, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Maria Sharapova was defeated after two rounds of Wimbledon for the second year in a row after falling to Gisela Dulko 6-2 3-6 6-4 at this year’s event.

Sharapova is ranked only 60th in the world, lower than Dulko who is No.45, but the Russian was seeded 24th at Wimbledon, privileged because of her status of a former champion, while Dulko was unseeded, so the Argentinean’s victory is an upset.

Sharapova won seven consecutive games during one stretch, and saved four match points in a 14-point final game, but hit one easy forehand long and fell on Dulko’s fifth match point.

Dulko had won only three games against Sharapova in their previous two meetings, but today she improved that stat and made Sharapova fall to 6-1 this year in three-set matches.

Dulko now faces another Russian in her next match, tenth seed Nadia Petrova.

Other notable results of day three include the defeat of the 2008 Wimbledon sensational semifinalist Zheng Jie, who fell to Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 7-5. Second seed Serena Williams lost only three games in her second-round match with Jarmila Groth. Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka double bageled Ioana Raluca Olaru, while seed No.14 Dominika Cibulkova and seed No.26 Virginie Razzano also progressed. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Second seed Serena Williams and seed No.24 Maria Sharapova overcame hurdles to move into the second round of Wimbledon 2009.

Williams dominated the first set against Neuza Silva 6-1, but the Portuguese qualifier then lifted up her game, and aided by some errors by her opponent made a fine match of it in the second set, even though eventually losing to the 10-time Grand Slam champion 6-1 7-5. Williams has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, but was tested quite a bit by the world No.154 Silva, the first Portuguese to play on Centre Court, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam match.

Sharapova was playing Ukrainian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova, who established a 4-1 lead in the first set. The 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova almost leveled for 4-4, and despite missing that chance the Russian took four straight games from 3-5. The second set was not straightforward either, however, the player whose comeback from career-threatening shoulder injury everyone is observing eventually won the first-round match 7-5 6-4.

Williams will face Australia's Jarmila Groth for a place in the third round, while Sharapova will play Argentina's Gisela Dulko. (photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Maria Sharapova posed in the window of a luxury department store in London on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Russian revealed the winner of the Sony Ericsson Design Competition, in which the London College of Fashion participated. Georgie Davies' design has been chosen as the winner.

Sharapova chatted with the aspiring designers and posed with their creations wearing a white v-necked jumpsuit and a pair of brown high heels. (sources: The Double Bagel, HCFoo's Tennis, Down the Line)