BIRMINGHAM, England — Maria Sharapova will not compete on grass before Wimbledon for the first time in her career, opting out of playing her usual warm-up tournament in England.

Sharapova is hoping to avoid injury, and will prepare in Florida rather than compete in the DFS Classic that starts Monday.

Sharapova has been a mainstay at the tournament for the last five years, winning it twice — including in 2004 when she went on to win Wimbledon.

She is also foregoing another grass-court warmup at Eastbourne the following week, choosing instead to copy Venus and Serena Williams' tournament-free, pre-Wimbledon schedule.

Sharapova struggled with shoulder and pectoral muscle problems last year, which kept her sidelined for nearly two months after the U.S. Open in September.

At the French Open, Sharapova lost to eventual finalist Dinara Safina in the fourth round. On Monday, Sharapova will lose her No. 1 ranking to French Open winner Ana Ivanovic.

The 21-year-old Russian inherited the top ranking after Justine Henin surprisingly retired last month.

Recently, Sharapova has been putting her health ahead of financial considerations.

She risked a $300,000 fine for refusing to perform a four-hour photo session at the Italian Open in Rome last month, saying it was "totally draining." She asked for support from readers on her Web site.

A compromise of a 90-minute session was reached, but only after Sharapova said she was prepared to publicly criticize the WTA.