As the final event of 2008 finished in Doha on Sunday, Maria will end the year #9 in the world with 2515 points.

This is the 5th consecutive year that Maria has finished in the top 10.  Maria is the only player to have ended the year in the top 10 every year since 2004.

Highlights of Maria's year includes winning the Australian Open, Doha and Amelia Island.  Since August, Maria has been recovering from a shoulder injury.

Maria will begin 2009 by playing the  World Team Challenge in Hong Kong which is from January 7-10.  The tournament will feature four teams representing Europe, Russia, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

Each team will consist of three players competing in singles and doubles, with Maria leading the Russian team.  Other players confirmed are Jelena Jankovic, Venus Williams and Sania Mirza.  The rest of the field will be announced later.

The forum is back online and can be found at http://forum.maria-sharapova.org/

There are also a lot of updates in our photoalbum. Don't forget to check it out!

Maria Sharapova announced on her Web site Friday that she will not play again this season, ending speculation that she might come back for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships Nov. 4-9 in Doha, Qatar.

Sharapova has been sidelined with a torn rotator cuff that was discovered shortly after she lost in the second round at Wimbledon — her earliest exit from that tournament. She played one match in her next tournament, the Rogers Cup in Montreal, then withdrew because of the shoulder injury. Doctors determined she had sustained the tear in April.

Cole Haan, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NIKE, Inc., today announced Maria Sharapova as a lead collaborator and the face of Cole Haan Sporting, a new collection for Spring 2009, rooted in sport and remixed with fashion.

Cole Haan Sporting stakes out fresh territory with a new, dynamic pairing of Cole Haan's authentic craftsmanship and Nike's sports innovation. The collection introduces new technologies like Flywire which build on the successful Nike Air franchise by recasting them into fashion-forward designs.