The fallout from the decision of the French Open to not reward Maria Sharapova a wild card has intensified with the head of the women’s tour slamming the tournament.
On Tuesday the president of the French Tennis Federation, Bernard Giudicelli, confirmed that the grand slam will not be offering Sharapova a pass into their event. Last month Sharapova returned to the tour after serving a 15-month doping suspension. The Russian tested positive for Meldonium, a drug added to the list of prohibited substances on January 1st, 2016.
“I just wanted to tell you that I have decided not to give a wild card to Maria Sharapova that she asked me for.” Giudicelli said during a live stream on Facebook. “Nobody can deprive her of her two titles here at Roland Garros. Those two titles she held according to the rules.”
The decision has been blasted by the head of the WTA, Steve Simon. Simon has been a public supporter of Sharapova and defended her right to receive a wild card into last month’s Stuttgart Open. In a statement published on wtatennis.com, he stated that there was ‘no ground’ for Roland Garros to punish a player beyond their doping suspension.
“What I do not agree with is the basis put forward by the FFT for their decision with respect to Maria Sharapova. She has complied with the sanction imposed by CAS.” Said Simon.
“The tennis anti-doping program is a uniform effort supported by the Grand Slams, WTA, ITF, and ATP.
“There are no grounds for any member of the TADP to penalize any player beyond the sanctions set forth in the final decisions resolving these matters.”
Double standards
Explaining his reasoning for the wild card snub, Giudicelli said that he is ‘protecting the game.’ On the other hand, Critics have accused him of inconsistency following the decision to give a wild card to French player Constant Lestienne.
Last year the 24-year-old was slammed with a seven-month suspension from the sport for betting. In a report by the Tennis Integrity Unit, Lestienne placed bets on 220 matches between February 2012 and June 2015 through online gambling websites Betclic and Pari Mutel Ubain.
The Frenchman also had a wild card revoked for the 2016 French Open after it emerged that he was under investigation for corruption. Lestienne’s suspension was reduced to three-and-a-half months after he cooperated with officials.
