The head of Russian tennis, Shamil Tarpischev, has swiftly jumped to the defence of Maria Sharapova as uncertainty over her French Open wild card continues.
The former world No.1 will end her 15-month doping suspension next month at the Stuttgart Open. Sharapova’s return to the main tour has been aided by a series of wild cards handed to her from tournaments in Germany, Spain and Italy.
On the other hand, the French Open are more cautious about awarding the Russian a place in their tournament. Organizers fear jeopardizing the integrity of the tournament if they award a pass to a player that has been guilty of a doping offence. Roland Garros’ caution has been backed by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who described giving Sharapova a wild card as ‘giving candy to a child who has misbehaved.’
Tarpischev has hit back at Tsonga’s comments by saying it ‘wasn’t a smart move.’ Throughout the entire controversy, the highly influential figure in Russian tennis has been a fierce defender of Sharapova and her integrity in the sport.
“It wasn’t a smart move from him (Tsonga) to comment on Maria’s situation,” Tarpischev told www.rbc.ru.
“Sharapova has no relation with doping whatsoever. Furthermore, it was proved meldonium is not doping, it’s a prohibited drug.” He added.
“Sharapova is an irreproachable athlete, a true professional. We all want her to gain her top form as soon as possible, to return to the sports elite.”
Sharapova’s first match of 2017 is one marred by controversy. The Stuttgart Open has agreed to allow her to play her first match on the Wednesday, the same day her ban officially ends. Both the tournament and Sharapova are sponsored by Porsche.
The ethics of rewarding Sharapova a wildcard following her ban has split many. On Thursday the WTA tweeted an article with the headline “Tennis needs Maria!” A somewhat bemused Alize Cornet retweeted the article with the caption ‘excuse me…?” The tweet has since been deleted. On the other hand, Svetlana Kuznetsova has a somewhat different viewpoint to that of Cornet, describing the debate as ‘not serious.’
Opinions re: Sharapova’s WCs:
Pro: Vika, Delpo
Con: Tsonga, Kyrgios, Murray, Kerber
Absent: ARod, Federer
Doesn’t care: Muguruza
— José Morais (@ZezeAM) 9 March 2017
