Sharapova granted US Open wildcard

FORMER world No.1 Maria Sharapova makes her first Grand Slam appearance next week since serving a 15-month doping suspension, bringing renewed passion and resolve to the US Open.

The 30-year-old Russian was given a wildcard into the tournament by the US Tennis Association, a move critics complained about earlier in the season.

But it’s another key step in the road back for the five-time Grand Slam winner.

“When it comes to tennis, good or bad – there’s really only one thing that I know for certain – I’ve missed it,” Sharapova wrote on the Players’ Tribune website.

“Though these last two years have been tougher – so much tougher – than I ever could have anticipated ... my passion for the game has never wavered. If anything, it has only grown stronger.”

Sharapova was given a twoyear suspension after testing positive for the banned heart and blood-boosting drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban on appeal.

She said that she had taken the drug for years and did not know it had been placed on the banned list at the start of 2016.

Sharapova made her return in April at Stuttgart, reaching the semi-finals as a wildcard, but such invitations sparked criticism from some WTA rivals, who said she should have to work her way back without such benefits. Others suggested a life ban.

“I’m aware of what many of my peers have said about me and how critical of me some of them have been,” she wrote.

“If you’re a human being with a normal, beating heart ... I don’t think that sort of thing will ever ... be possible to ignore.”

The USTA defended its wildcard offer, saying her suspension had been completed and was not a factor in the selection process.