Following a press conference held in the French capital of Paris ahead of the French Open, it has emerged that former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova will not receive a wildcard to the clay court Grand Slam to be held at the end of May.
Sharapova, who is a two-time champion at the French Open, only recently returned to tennis following a 15-month ban for the use of meldonium, a banned substance under rules established by WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency. Following her return, the Russian received wildcards to a number of tournaments on the clay-court swing, among them the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, where her progress to the finals was halted by French professional Kristina Mladenovic.
Following this, Sharapova also received a wildcard to the Mutua Madrid Masters, where she beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni before going down to Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard. Sharapova is also a wildcard at the currently ongoing Italian Open, where she defeated American Christina McHale in straight sets in her first round match; she will now play Lucic-Baroni again.
French Open organisers had been unsure of giving Sharapova a wildcard to the tournament, in light of the potential backlash the tournament would receive in being considered to condone the use of a banned substance, or condoning doping entirely.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was among a number of players from the country to criticise a potential wildcard, calling it “giving candy to a baby that has sinned.” World No. 1 Andy Murray also criticised the decision, but said organisers would “take their own decisions.”
Considering her break from the sport, Sharapova would have needed at least a finals finish in Stuttgart to be eligible for the qualifiers at the Grand Slam on merit alone; having been unable to make up the deficit in her rankings, Sharapova would have had to rely on a wildcard to be able to play the French Open, which she won in 2012 and 2014.
Pundits had initially speculated Sharapova might not be granted a wildcard to the tournament outright, but to qualifiers – where she could otherwise have been able to amass wins; his move means she will have absolutely no way to play the open whatsoever.
More to follow.
