What’s next for Maria Sharapova and will she make it to a Grand Slam this year?
As Maria Sharapova gets ready to play in the second tournament she’s been granted a wild card for, questions still remain about her chances of playing at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Maria Sharapova played her first tournament last week since her ban and reached as far as the semifinals at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. That saw with a surge in the rankings for the Russian to number 262, just outside of the top 250, which would have guaranteed her a spot outright in the Wimbledon qualifying tournament at Roehampton. Still, not a bad start, and one that was wrought with plenty of criticism from her fellow players, including some whom she beat last week, and a few she will be facing next week in Madrid.
The Frenchwoman who beat Sharapova in the semis didn’t mince words when she spoke with The Guardian back in March.
“All the other players are saying she’s a cheater,” the 28-year-old said about her reputation among the WTA. “You sure doubt and think that she didn’t deserve all she won until now. That’s dreadful, but it’s good that it’s finally out.”
But she seemed more conciliatory about her presence on the tour right before they faced each other in Stuttgart.
“On one hand, I totally understand the tournaments want her in the draw because she is very famous and they want more attention, which is part of the business,” said the world number 19. “It’s a fact that she was caught by anti-doping, but she wasn’t the first one.”
The Russian player has encountered testy exchanges in her press conferences, but still shown much grit and perseverance in her matches and has made her presence felt to all, showing few signs of weakness from having been away from the tour for 15 months due to her doping suspension. Exhibiting formidable form, she seemed happy to be back and elated with her progress so far.
“You are never sure what level you are going to come onto the court with, but I feel this is a great base with which I started here.”
In the meantime she is awaiting her fate at the grand slams, which must be her true goals this year. What would make a comeback story more glorious than a grand slam win? And with Serena Williams out on pregnancy leave, she has a much better chance. Among her five slams are two French Opens and one Wimbledon. Both tournament officials are planning to make announcements on wild cards for the former No. 1 this month and next.
The French Tennis Federation took a particularly hard stance, citing their tough anti-doping policies, prompting the Russian to fly to Paris to plead her case. With their decision to now be announced in a rather more dramatic fashion via Facebook on May 16, it seems likely they will issue a wild card to at least the qualifiers on the road to Roland Garros. Wimbledon will follow suit, making their announcement on June 20, although they seem to be giving the Russian-born player a bit more leeway for their deliberation and are hinting that if she signs up for some of the grass court warm-up events prior to Wimbledon — events she usually shuns — they would consider her case more.
“We will also consider what might add interest to the tournament. If someone has a strong record at Wimbledon that would be taken into consideration,” said All England Club chairman Philip Brook at a news conference on Wednesday.
“We do appreciate players who play in grass court tournaments in the buildup to Wimbledon and success in those, for a number of years now, had been rewarded (with wildcards),” Brook explained further.
So far the 30-year-old tennis star is signed up for just the three clay court tourneys she’s received wild cards at, continuing with Madrid this week, where she participated in a team tournament along with her ex-boyfriend Grigor Dmitrov (and gave him quite the side eye).
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The Madrid clay tourney is a premiere mandatory event, where Sharapova will face higher ranked players and even more challenging matches, including a likely second round matchup with world number 59 (formerly fifth in the world) Eugenie Bouchard, who has a very strong opinion about the Russian’s welcome back to the tour.
“I don’t think that’s right,” Bouchard said a few weeks ago, according to Tennis Magazine. “She is a cheater and so, to me, I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again. It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way.”
And the Canadian player didn’t stop there.
“I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: ‘Cheat and we will welcome you back with open arms.’ I don’t think that’s right and definitely she is not someone I can say I look up to anymore.”
After the Mutua Madrid tournament comes Rome, the last tournament Sharapova is scheduled for so far while she awaits her fate among the French and Wimbledon majors. She will likely be a big draw at both, something those in favor of her return keep pointing out. If the German tourney was a test to see if the Russian still had the juice, the Spanish and Italian tourneys will be bigger trials and will demonstrate how much of a contender she is for the upcoming grand slam titles she is seeking a chance to play.