NYET THIS YEAR
French diss for disgraced Sharapova
Maria Sharapova’s doping suspension is over, but the disgraced star is still paying the price.
Sharapova, who recently returned from a 15-month ban for a positive test for the banned substance meldonium, will not be given a wild card to the French Open — not even to the qualifying rounds — it was announced Tuesday. French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said he delivered the news to Sharapova in person.
“This suspension is over and she can take her path toward new success,” the Associated Press quoted Giudicelli as saying. “But while there can be a wild card for return from injury, there can’t be a wild card for return from doping.
“I’m very sorry for Maria, very sorry for her fans. They might be disappointed, she might be very disappointed. But it’s my responsibility, it’s my mission to protect the game and protect the high standards of the game.”
It was just the start of a miserable day for the 30year-old. Sharapova also lost her Italian Open Round of 32 match in Rome to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, retiring with a thigh injury in the third set.
Sharapova, who won the French Open in 2012 and 2014 among her five major titles, is ranked 211th in the world, meaning she did not automatically qualify for the clay-court major, which begins May 28. Her loss to Kiki Mladenovic in the semifinals of April’s Stuttgart Open ensured the Russian star would not have enough points in the rankings to get into the French Open field without being given the gift of a wild card.
Her Italian Open loss also guaranteed she will not be able to get an automatic spot into Wimbledon’s main draw and would need to receive a wild card or go through qualifiers to make it into that field for that major, which begins July 3 in London.
Tennis starlet Eugenie Bouchard, who recently beat Sharapova at the Madrid Open, has been outspoken that the Russian star should be banned from the sport for life after her positive test. More privately, other players are believed to feel the same.
The New York Times quoted a smiling WTA player who said after the announcement of the French Open snub: “Ninety-nine percent of players are against her, just afraid to say that.”