Why was she allowed to break news?

MARIA SHARAPOVA’S demise will hit tennis like a freight train, and it will be of little consolation to the authorities that anti-doping measures have landed a big name. The fact that she was allowed to make her own announcement, to take control of the narrative, is an illustration of how the game is so deferential to its leading stars. That is one of the sport’s problems. The evolution of professional tennis in the past 20 years has seen a shift of emphasis from fine hand skills to a premium on strength and endurance. Technique and touch are still necessities, but developments in racket and string technology, and slower court surfaces, have seen the physical side become more and more important. Therefore the temptation to gain an edge in that area has never been more acute, and tennis always looked vulnerable to a significant individual being caught out. It has only just had to commission an independent review of match-fixing after the storm that hit it in Melbourne following the publication of a BBC-Buzzfeed report. At the time some of us maintained that doping was more of a clear and present danger to the sport’s integrity — certainly at the highest level — than the corrupt behaviour of players at lower tier events in a small percentage of matches. Roger Federer and Andy Murray have been at the forefront in recent years of calling for more to be done to deter those who might be tempted to dope. They obviously see a threat as well. Speak to people inside the game and you do not find many who think tennis has a problem on the scale as other sports. But as one seasoned coach told me recently, there are many who will push up against the boundaries of legality in the seeking of an advantage. This is a disaster for women’s tennis, with one of its biggest drawcards forever tainted. A question remains. Why would a known control freak like Sharapova take something outlawed in Melbourne, surely aware that testing is so vigorous at the Grand Slams? She may be many things. Stupid is not among them.