Maria Sharapova had made a little comeback, playing only doubles at Indian Wells last week, but this week we’re already hearing she’ll skip the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

After her first-round loss in doubles, the Russian admitted her form was not on high-enough level to play singles, so the withdrawal from Miami didn’t come as a shock.

We’re still wondering when Sharapova will be ready to return to playing normally. She’s been injured since April 2008 and has not played a tournament in singles since the Rogers Cup in Montreal in the summer of 2008. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Maria Sharapova played her first competitive match since last August, paired with Elena Vesnina at the BNP Paribas Open. The Russians lost to Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek 6-1 4-6 10-7 in the first round.

Despite the defeat, Sharapova is glad to be back:

It feels pretty good, it's pretty amazing. I came here and just wanted to test it out. I started training a couple of months ago and I thought I'd test it out in a match situation and play in front of a crowd, and it was exciting.

The disappointing fact is that Sharapova is still not ready for high-intensity competition:

I think the hump I've got to get through right now is to put two weeks of playing two, three sets every single day, for two weeks and feeling great, 100 percent. Right now I am able to do maybe three days, four days and then I have to take it easy on the fifth. Obviously that's not the way to go about a tournament in singles, so that's what I am working up to right now and whenever that comes, that's when I'll be playing singles.

The 21-year-old Sharapova hadn’t played doubles since mid-2005, but chose to make her return to tennis after a seven-month absence slowly, and hence opted for avoiding singles at the beginning. (source: ESPN, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Now it’s official: Maria Sharapova will start her return from shoulder injury by playing doubles at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Besides confirming that she’s playing doubles at the next week’s tournament, Sharapova commented on the recovery process on her official website:

I am excited to be playing competitive tennis again. The healing process takes time, and requires things to move more slowly than I would like, but I am taking things one step at a time. I look forward to playing at the BNP Paribas Open, it is definitely one of my favorite tournaments in the world. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Yesterday we had unofficial information that Maria Sharapova won’t return from her injury at Indian Wells, but the latest news at TennisReporters.net is that she will play the BNP Paribas Open, but only the doubles competition.

Sharapova, who hasn’t played doubles since mid-2005, will team up with Elena Vesnina for the first time, but is expected to return to singles at the following event in Miami at the end of month.

The 21-year-old’s surgically repaired right shoulder still gets fatigued after three consecutive days of two out of three set matches and her doctors aren’t convinced that it’s a good idea to push it in singles during the next two weeks.

Sharapova has won three doubles titles in her career: 2004 Birmingham with Maria Kirilenko, and 2003 titles in Tokyo and Luxembourg with Tamarine Tanasugarn. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Maria Sharapova’s skipping of tournaments is continuing. According to the Siberian Siren blog and their insider information, Sharapova will miss the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Not a big surprise, I have to say.

Seeing Sharapova practicing at the Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy gave us hope that she would make her long-anticipated return at Indian Wells. However, the Russian is apparently not ready for high-level competition yet and is waiting to be absolutely fit.

Sharapova has slipped to No. 23 in the rankings, not having  competed since July 2008 because of a shoulder injury. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)