Sharapova back inside the top 150. Sharapova withdrew from the next round with a left arm injury. She was set to make a return at the Canadian Open, where she had received a wildcard, but ultimately withdraw due to a left arm injury. She was set to play the Cincinnati Open as a wildcard but pulled out to be fully fit for the US Open, which had also granted Sharapova a wildcard entry. She opened the US Open against world No. 2, Simona Halep, and won in three sets, her first US Open win since the 2014 US Open. In second round she defeated Tímea Babos, coming from a set down to win in three. In the third round, she played the American wildcard Sofia Kenin, an 18-year-old who was making her first main draw appearance in a major. Sharapova defeated the teenager in tight straight sets to advance to the second week of the US Open. She was defeated by 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round. Sharapova received and accepted wildcards to enter the China Open and Tianjin Open, both held in China. In her opening match at the China Open, Sharapova once again faced Sevastova, this time prevailing in a three-hour, three-set match. In the second round, Sharapova defeated Ekaterina Makarova, seeing her move back into the top 100 for the first time since before her suspension. In the third round, Sharapova lost to Simona Halep in straight sets, marking her first loss to the Romanian after seven consecutive victories. Sharapova then remained in China for the Tianjin Open, which was her first appearance at the tournament. Sharapova went on to win the tournament, marking her first WTA title since 2015, without dropping a set, including coming back from 1–4 down in the first set and 1–5 down in the second set against 19-year-old Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The result saw her eventually climb the rankings into the top 60, and she later received another wildcard to enter the Kremlin Cup. Sharapova recorded her first opening round loss since 2013, with a straight-sets loss to eighth seed Magdaléna Rybáriková. 2018: Return to top 25 and French Open quarterfinal Sharapova began her 2018 season at the Shenzhen Open. She defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu, Alison Riske and Zarina Diyas to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to defending champion Kateřina Siniaková. Sharapova then returned to the Australian