Maria Sharapova will not appear on the clay courts of Paris, the bosses of the French Open after tournament decided not to give the Russian athlete a wildcard. Paris will welcome the first matches on 28 May, Maria will be on tribunes again.
The Russian tennis player and two-time winner of Roland Garros will have to miss this Grand Slam tournament – no wildcard for the doper, decided the French Open officials. The 30-year-old Sharapova now is ranked too low to gain direct entry for the event of such a level.
Maria Sharapova has returned from a 15-month drugs ban in April, she was receiving wildcards in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome. But French Tennis Federation chief Bernard Giudicelli Ferrandini believes that a wildcard for Roland Garros is too much for the Russian athlete:
“There can be a wildcard for the return from injuries – there cannot be a wildcard for the return from doping,”
and added that he really sorry for all Maria’s fans who expected to see Sharapova on the courts of Paris this year.
Maria Sharapova returns to the professional tennis
Shortly after learning of her French Open snub, Sharapova withdrew injured from her second-round Italian Open match against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Sharapova had been hoping to receive a wildcard either into the main draw or the qualifying tournament.
Sharapova had been hoping to receive a wildcard either into the main draw or the qualifying tournament. So far, there is a chance for Sharapova to earn a qualifying spot at Wimbledon next month.
