Sharapova to miss Olympics

Sharapova wins Wimbledon

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova will definitely not compete at the Olympics, tennis officials have announced.

Russia have already named their four-woman team - Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

And the International Tennis Federation insists there is no way the decision will be overturned.

"It is a shame, I agree... but all the places have been allocated now," said ITF secretary general Debbie Jevans.

"The problem is being on a team that is so strong."

Every team had to announce their team by 14 June. But, even if one of the quartet withdraw, Vera Zvonareva will join the team and not Sharapova.

Jevans added: "We do have wildcards, that's not the issue. The issue is that there is a maximum of four players from an individual country allowed in the Games. On the cut-off, there were four Russians ranked higher than Sharapova."

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