Maria Sharapova Back On Court, Started Training As Soon As She Arrived In Wuhan

Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a return during her women's singles tennis match against Angelique Kerber of Germany at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 1, 2014. REUTERS

Maria Sharapova has already arrived in Wuhan ahead of the inaugural 2014 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, which officially starts on Sept. 21 until Sept. 27. The hard court tournament will be held at Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan City.

On her Facebook page, Sharapova shared a snap before she boarded the plane. "Come fly with me, off to Wuhan with my cool new rain poncho courtesy of the airline," Sharapova captioned the photo.

As soon as she arrived, Sharapova began her training sessions on the tennis court. A Twitter user (@SharaPovaFrance) was generous enough to post pictures of the fourth-ranked Russian athlete while she hit the tennis ball.

Finally Masha back on the court ! So happy to see her. Let's go queen #sharafamily @wuhanopentennis #sharapova pic.twitter.com/yxOdUO8XjE
— Jeremie Love Pova (@SharaPovaFrance) September 18, 2014

The tournament's official website also shared pictures of Sharapova with the ball kids. She was all smiles as she posed for pictures with them. She even had an impromptu autograph session, signing huge tennis balls for the kids.

Sharapova enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed. US Open champion Serena William, newly crowned World No. 2 Romanian Simona Halep, and Wimbledon titlist Petra Kvitova will lead the tournament, which is part of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Premier 5 series. The Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open replaced Tokyo as the final premier event in the current season, offering 900 points for the winner.

The 2014 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open also boasts a hefty amount of prize money worth $2.4 million. The champion will reportedly bring home more than half a million dollars or $661,200. The semifinalist and quarterfinalist will win $220,200 and $110,100, respectively.

Complete Players To Compete At The Wuhan Open (Country/WTA Rank)

Serena Williams (U.S./1)

Simona Halep (Romania/2)

Petra Kvitova (Czechoslovakia/3)

Maria Sharapova (Russia/4)

Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland/5)

Li Na (China/6)

Eugenie Bouchard (Canada/7)

Angelique Kerber (Germany/8)

Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark/9)

Ana Ivanovic (Serbia/10)

Jelena Jankovic (Serbia/11)