Maria Sharapova denied entry as a wild card to French Open.
Bernard Giudicelli, the president of the French Tennis Federation, announced Tuesday that the federation would not grant a wild-card entry into the French Open to Maria Sharapova.
The federation also declined to offer Sharapova, a two-time French Open singles champion, a wild card into the qualifying tournament.
Sharapova returned to the tour last month after a 15-month suspension for a doping violation. Her suspension, initially a two-year ban, was reduced on appeal last year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that she had not doped intentionally but was not without fault.
Despite the opposition of some players, Sharapova has received wild-card entries into the main draw of regular tour events in Stuttgart, Germany; Madrid; and Rome. But she now has no possibility of competing in the first Grand Slam tournament to be contested since her return.
“She has handled her suspension with dignity and respect,” said Giudicelli, who announced the decision via Facebook Live. “But nonetheless, though there can be a wild card after an injury, there cannot be one for a return from doping. So it is up to Maria day after day, tournament after tournament, to find alone the strength she needs to win the big titles without owing anything to anyone.”
The French Open, the world’s premier clay-court tournament, begins in Paris on May 28, but Sharapova had not acquired enough ranking points to earn direct entry into the event.
Giudicelli said the decision to deny Sharapova a place in the tournament had been a difficult one.
“While it’s true that the CAS has reduced her sanction, it is still a violation of the tennis antidoping program,” Giudicelli said. “CAS reduced her sanction but also recognized that Maria was the only one responsible for her misfortune. It is not for me today to question that decision. I respect, and we should respect, the decision that was first taken by the International Tennis Federation’s independent tribunal and then considered on appeal by CAS.”
With a first-round victory in Rome against Christina McHale on Monday, Sharapova earned a spot in Wimbledon’s qualifying tournament. She needed to reach the semifinals in Rome to have enough ranking points for entry into Wimbledon’s main draw, but she retired in the second round on Tuesday with a left thigh injury while leading Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 4-6, 6-3, 2-1.
Sharapova did not hold a news conference after the match and released a statement that did not address the French Open’s decision.
“I apologize for having to withdraw from my match today with a left thigh injury,” she said. “I will be getting all the necessary examinations to make sure it is not serious. I want to thank the tournament for giving me the opportunity to play this special event again.”
Giudicelli, elected president of the French federation in February, indicated shortly after his election that it would be “very complicated” to give Sharapova a wild card. But he met with Sharapova in March during the tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., a tête-à-tête that took place while Sharapova was still suspended.
Giudicelli said then that he and the French Open tournament director, Guy Forget, would discuss the subject. He emphasized that no decision had been made, raising hopes among Sharapova’s team and supporters that the French Open might follow the lead of the WTA Tour events.
Giudicelli said he made the final decision on his own “after hearing from lots of people internally” at the French federation. He said none of the other members of the administrative team were in favor of awarding Sharapova a wild card.
But not everyone in the tennis community was in agreement.
“I believe every tournament should give her a main draw wild card, and I think the safest play is to give her a wild card into the qualies,” Justin Gimelstob, a Tennis Channel analyst and member of the ATP board of directors, said Monday. “I’m very concerned this new president is going to try to make a statement and shut her out of the tournament. If he does that, it’s a huge travesty and a mistake.”