'Strange', 'Sends wrong message': Maria Sharapova's wildcard return evokes strong reactions

Maria Sharapova’s suspension due to the use of meldonium, a prohibited drug, during the 2016 Australian Open had sent shockwaves through the tennis community in March last year. Reactions of her contemporary players ranged from shocked to supportive.

Exactly a year later, her return to tennis after serving her suspesnion is evoking similarly mixed reactions from fellow players. Sharapova’s return post suspension means she willl be playing without a ranking and needs a wildcard to enter any tournament.

Maria Sharapova will make her comeback after serving her 15-month doping suspension at the Porsche Grand Prix on April 26. However, the catch here is that the tournament in Stuttgart starts two days before her suspension runs out and she will only be allowed to attend the tournament on the day of her match. After Stuttgart, Sharapova has also recieved wildcards to play in Madrid and Rome. It has also been reported that she is hoping to recieve a wild card to play the French Open, her first Grand Slam since comeback, but French Tennis Federation president is still unsure about it.

The former world No. 1 was handed a two-year ban in March after testing positive for meldonium. However, her suspension was reduced in October following an appeal. As Sharapova prepares for return next month, not all her contemporaries are pleased about it. The reason being the fact that her layof was due to a drug offense, which should be treated more stringently.

Mixed reactions

Angelique Kerber, former World No 1, had a lot of things to say, especially since Sharapova’s return tourney is in the former’s homeland, Germany. Giving Sharapova the Stuttgart wildcard means that a German player might miss out, as countries tend to give wildcards to the nationals whos rankings don’t make the cut.

“It’s a little bit strange, the situation, because I think she can just come on site on Wednesday [the day after Sharapova’s ban ends], so it’s a strange situation. I don’t know what to say about this. It’s a little bit strange also for the other players that someone can only just walk on site on Wednesday and play on Wednesday. So it’s a little bit weird,” Kerber said at Indian Wells.

She went on to emphaise that Germans may miss out on a tournament in their country due to Sharapova getting the wild card, saying, “I don’t know yet who will get wildcards as well, but for me it’s a little bit weird because it is a German tournament and for me, [there are so] many good German players and I think a few of us will need a wildcard to get into the main draw as well. So this is a little bit strange.

“The Germans are playing Fed Cup, we are playing for the country, and we are trying to make German tennis more famous again. More people are taking the racquets again. So yes, the situation is a little bit weird,” she added.

Romanian Simona Halep was undecided on the issue, but did mention that Sharapova does not necessarily need a wildcard to make her return. This may imply that she belives the Russian should work her way up the ranking by playing in a small tournaments, a usual practise for people making returns.

“I don’t know what to say about this. I’m not there to make decisions, so maybe people who are working on this know better. In my opinion, she can receive wildcards because she was number one in the world, she’s a Grand Slam champion, but I think even if she doesn’t get wildcards she can come back,” Halep said.

Men’s World No 1 Andy Murray had a much firmer stand on the whole issue. “I think you should really have to work your way back,” Murray said. “However, the majority of tournaments are going to do what they think is best for their event. If they think having big names there is going to sell more seats, then they’re going to do that.”

But he also added that tennis authorities should have a look at this issue. “The tournaments are well within their rights to give a wild card, there’s nothing saying they can’t. There’s no rule in place, so the tournaments are going to do what they think is best for their event. But should you get a wild card into every event when you come back? I’m not sure about that. That’s something that maybe should be looked at.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova, on the other hand, was far more welcoming, saying that Sharapova;s case wasn’t that serious. “I’ve been supportive to her because I don’t think this thing was really that serious. I understand, because if we talk about cheaters, people who cheat, you would say, ‘Why would cheaters get a wild card?’ But then if there is some mistake, you know, it’s a little bit of a different story. But it’s really hard to say. I understand all the sides.”

But the most direct words came from France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who said he didn’t think Sharapova should get a chance to play at Roland Garros. “I would not do it,” he said. “It’s like if you give a sweet to a kid who did a bad thing, the kid’s going to do it again. It sends the wrong message,” Tsonga said.

Tsonga’s comments were slammed by Russian tennis supremo Shamil Tarpishchev, who told Tsonga to keep his opinions to himself. “It wasn’t a smart move from him (Tsonga) to comment on Maria’s situation,” Tarpischev was quoted as saying.

It remains to be seen how Sharapova’s comeback goes and whether she gets a chance to play at a Grand Slam. However, the mixed reactions so far indicate that she the former World No 1 won’t have it easy on or off court once she returns.