Two more join sharp criticism

Stuttgart (Germany), April 25: From the shadow of Chernobyl’s nuclear wasteland to international super-stardom and from penniless arrival in the United States, without a word of English, to a fortune of $200 million.

It may sound like the stuff of Hollywood dreams, but the story of Maria Sharapova is a testament to the power of one individual to make it, whatever the odds, whatever the controversy, whatever people think.

On Wednesday, in Stuttgart, the 30-year-old will return from a 15month doping suspension to open the next chapter.

When she takes to the court to face Roberta Vinci, it will be to the consternation of many opponents and the relief, albeit privately, of a women’s tour left flagging by the absence of Serena Williams, probably Sharapova’s only serious rival in the arena-filling business.

Sharapova shot to international fame as a giggly 17-year-old Wimbledon winner in 2004 — the third youngest player to conquer the famous All England Club’s courts.

She would go on to win the Australian and US Opens while claiming two titles at the French Open, despite famously likening her movement on Roland Garros’s crushed red brick to a “cow on ice”.

Siberia-born Sharapova first picked up a racquet at the age of four in Sochi, where her Belarus-born parents had settled after escaping the deadly clutches of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Spotted by Martina Navratilova, she was encouraged to move to Nick Bollettieri’s Florida academy, the proving ground of Andre Agassi and Monica Seles.

Father Yuri and the seven-year-old Maria left for the US in 1994 with just $700 to their names.

Yuri took odd jobs like dishwashing to finance his daughter’s dreams although visa restrictions meant mother Yelena was back in Russia, separated from her daughter for two years.

When Sharapova was nine, the mighty IMG group spotted her talent and funded the $35,000 fees required for the Bollettieri school. She made her professional debut at 14 in 2001 and by 2003 reached the world top 50. She won her first tour titles in Japan and Quebec.

Then in 2004, her Wimbledon final triumph over Williams made her an overnight international celebrity.

One year later, she became the first Russian woman to be ranked number one in the world while, in 2006, she won her second major at the US Open. With Serena Williams, she has endured her most testing rivalry — on and off the court. The two famously exchanged personal insults over their love lives when Sharapova began a twoyear romance with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov, a rumoured previous suitor of Serena.

Sharapova hit the jackpot in her commercial affairs. She made almost $30 million in 2015, according to Forbes, with $23 million of that coming from endorsements and once signed a contract extension with Nike worth a reported $70 million. “Beauty sells,” she said.

She owns luxury homes and is making a lucrative career as an entrepreneur. In 2012, she launched her own line of candy, ‘Sugarpova’, and during her suspension, signed up for a Harvard Business School course.

But she insists that retirement was never an option despite her absence meaning her world ranking has disappeared, leaving her at the mercy of wildcards into tournaments. — AFP Stuttgart (Germany), April 25: A day before Maria Sharapova was to play her first tennis match since being banned for doping, the debate about the Russian’s wildcard entry for the Porsche Grand Prix continued on Tuesday.

Simona Halep and Alize Cornet joined the growing legion of players criticising tournament organizers for offering Sharapova a direct spot in their main draws.

“For the kids, for the young players, it is not OK to help with a wild card the player that was banned for doping,” said the fifth-ranked Halep.

“I cannot support what the tournament director did, but also I cannot judge,” added Halep.

Cornet went a step further in comments published by French sports daily L’Equipe. “Generally speaking, I find it shameful that the WTA is promoting a player who tested positive after all. It’s normal that people talk about her, she’s an immense champion, but from there to promoting her return to such an extent... I find that unjust,” the 41stranked French woman said.

Besides Stuttgart, Sharapova has also been handed a free passage into the main draws at Madrid and Rome in May, but organisers of the French Open have yet to decide about an invitation for the Russian. “I hope that (French Tennis Federation) president Bernard Guidicelli holds firm on what he initially said and doesn’t offer her a wildcard for Roland Garros,” Cornet said.

“A player who has tested positive should start from scratch like everyone else and win her place back. You shouldn’t roll out the red carpet for her,” she added.

Wimbledon celebrity Rivalry with Serena

— AP