World number two Maria Sharapova will play at next week's Birmingham Classic after accepting a wildcard for the Wimbledon warm-up event, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) said on Friday.
The 20-year-old Russian, who was beaten in the French Open semi-finals by Serb Ana Ivanovic on Thursday, won the grasscourt event in Birmingham in 2004 - the same year she won Wimbledon - and 2005. The other beaten Roland Garros semi-finalist, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, will also play in Birmingham.