Will Maria Sharapova get wild cards into the French Open and Wimbledon?

The Italian Open is the latest to grant the Russian tennis player a wild card, following announcements from the Madrid and Stuttgart WTA events in the last few weeks — but will the French Open and Wimbledon follow suit?

Maria Sharapova is not receiving quite the welcome mat that she expected, with no guaranteed wild card to the French Open. The French Tennis Federation (FTF) president Bernard Giudicelli was ambivalent about granting an automatic wild card to the Russian player on Thursday, according to Agence France-Press. After the surprise statement, Sharapova’s people went into action and her agent contacted FTF for a meeting to plead her case directly to Giudicelli.

“Today, [the decision] has not been taken,” said Giudicelli on Thursday, according to Tennis magazine.

“Integrity is one of our strong points. We cannot decide, on the one hand, to increase the amount of funds we dedicate to the anti-doping battle and, on the other, invite her,” Giudicelli explained further, according to ESPN.

Discussing the meeting taking now place on Friday, newly elected FTF president Giudicelli had reservations about the idea but did agree to hear her case after her agent wrote the federation.

“We’re going to meet her [Sharapova], listen to her arguments and then talk it over with Guy [Forget, tournament director] and we’ll make a decision,” said Giudicelli, according to Supersport.

Andy Murray doesn’t think she should get an easy ride

Andy Murray, always strong on anti-doping in the sport, has criticized the gifting of the wild cards to Sharapova so far, the most recent earlier this week from the Italian Open.

“I think you should really have to work your way back,” Murray told The Times (via ESPN).

The French Open stance is a particular blow to the former number one WTA player. Maria Sharapova tested positive for the banned substance meldonium back at the Australian Open in 2016 and was given an original two-year sentence by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which was then commuted to 15 months by the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The more lenient ban allowed the former darling of women’s tennis to be ready to start competing again in April of this year, just in time for the short clay season, which many in the sport considered a favorable timeframe to allow her to be ready for the French, where she has won twice.

Since January of this year, Sharapova has received three wild cards, all in clay court tourneys, providing the tennis player with plenty of warm-up practice to her highly anticipated return to Roland Garros, where she has achieved her greatest success. Her performance in the runner-up tournaments will not be enough to guarantee a spot at the French, making the FTF statement particularly disappointing for the 29-year-old player.

Sharapova received the first wild card in January of this year from the Porsche Open, in Stuttgart, which will take place in April. Technically still on probation the first two days of the competition, she will be allowed a walkover for her first match and will begin competing on April 26, when she is allowed to enter competition in the sport again, all within the rules. It came as no surprise that the German tournament made concessions for her since the competition’s sponsor was also one of the first of Sharapova’s endorsers to welcome her back.

Following suit were the Mutua Madrid Open (taking place May 7-13) and the Rome Masters (May 15-21). The Italian Open made the announcement on Tuesday with an official tweet including a picture of the former number one player holding the Italian trophy (she has won there three times).

If she doesn’t get a wild card gift

If the French federation doesn’t grant her a wild card to their grand slam, Sharapova will be looking at a scenario of having to compete in the qualifying event leading up to the grand slam. And that’s not even guaranteed; she will need to win the title at the Porsche masters event to boost enough ranking points to enter the French Open qualifying event.

If she does well in Roland Garros, she could sail into Wimbledon on ranking points alone and without a wild card.

“She has an opportunity to try to improve her ranking up until that point and potentially not need a wild card,” Murray said to UK’s The Times.

If the All England Club does decide to issue the wild card, the decision would come in the last week of the French Open. Wimbledon is the third grand slam title Sharapova holds.

WTA players not necessarily happy about her return

“Players are not interested in it. Personally I don’t even remember Sharapova,” Spain’s Garbine Muguruza said in an interview with Marca, according to Tennisworldusa. “Yes, for the tournaments it is a good news because the media’s attention will be on her, but again, we are not interested in it too much.”

Not everyone is coming down on Sharapova, however. Three-time Wimbledon champ and former Novak Djokovic coach, Boris Becker, thinks she should be given another chance.

“In principle, I am all for a second chance,” Becker told Reuters at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco, last month, where sprinter Usain Bolt was being honored as Sportsman of the Year. Bolt is no stranger to a CAS case either since his 9^th gold medal was stripped due to his teammate’s doping in the Beijing games, which many see as unfair since he did not cheat. “She paid her dues, she was suspended for quite a long time,” said Becker.

Sharapova is one of the biggest names in the sport and will continue to be a draw that will bring in box office receipts to events, most especially at the smaller ones on the tour. Even “The Fonze,” Henry Winkler, couldn’t help commenting on the subject while stopped at LAX. Whether she will be allowed to compete at the grand slam level on her own terms is another matter.

The French Open takes place May 28 through June 11. Wimbledon championships will begin July 3 this year.