Sharapova to be Russia practice partner at Fed Cup final

Sharapova, who has yet to play for Russia in the competition, will join Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze, Nadia Petrova and Elina Vesina for the final, to be played on Sept. 15 and 16.

"I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from our captain (Shamil Tarpischev), asking me if I would like to play in the finals," Sharapova said.

"Unfortunately he called me the day I was visiting a doctor in Toronto, who said the best way to get rid of that 20 percent nagging shoulder pain that I have left is if I don`t put any impinging overhead pressure on it for the next three weeks, which basically means I can`t hit anything over my head.