Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova will return to tournament action at the Brisbane International next month after being awarded a wildcard to play in the Australian Open warm-up.

The 32-year-old Russian, who last played a competitive match in the first round of the US Open in August, has dropped to 133rd in the world after a season in which a long-standing shoulder injury restricted her to eight tournaments.

The five-time Grand Slam champion will join current world No. 1 Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova in a strong field at the Queensland Tennis Centre from January 6 to 12.

“It’s a fresh start after a tough last season,” Sharapova said. “There were a lot of ups and downs, there were times when I was ready but the shoulder wasn’t. But I have had a fairly good off season and I am motivated to compete.