Will Maria Sharapova Play at Wimbledon 2017?
Female tennis star Maria Sharapova has secured her spot in the qualifying draw of Wimbledon in June. The player has just returned from her 15-month suspension after coming out positive in a doping test.
As Sharapova returned on Monday, she successfully hit a significant milestone that guaranteed her an opportunity to compete in the upcoming qualifying stage. During her first-round match at the Italian Open, she knocked out her American opponent Christina McHale at 6-4, 6-2, securing her direct entry into the upcoming competition in Wimbledon.
Her win against McHale did not only guarantee her entry into the qualifying draw but also helped her rebuild her ranking in tennis. After her victorious match, she was able to move up in rank to be among the top 200 of the WTA rankings. Fifteen months of not competing took a toll on the Russian player's ranking. Before her recent win, she ranked only 211 in the world.
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However, despite Sharapova's success in joining the qualifying stage at Wimbledon, she was denied a wild-card entry to the French Open. The upcoming event is scheduled to kick off on May 28.
In a Facebook Live broadcast held in the afternoon of May 16, French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli did not include the name of the two-time champion in the list of wildcards for the upcoming tournament, allegedly because her ranking points were not enough to qualify her in the main draw. The news disappointed Sharapova's fans who had hoped that the athlete would get her spot at Roland Garros, especially since she had won titles at the event both in 2012 and 2014.
Giudicelli said in the broadcast: "I'm very sorry for Maria, very sorry for her fans. They might be very disappointed and she might be very disappointed, but it is my responsibility and my mission to protect the game and protect high standards of the game played without any 'doping' on the result, so that is our decision."
Sharapova's previous suspension came as a result of her being tested positive for Meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
