ATP World No.1 Andy Murray has given his thoughts on the Birmingham WTA event offering Maria Sharapova a wildcard.
Murray, has been vocal in his views that players returning from suspensions should earn their places in draws through moving their ranking up rather than be offered wildcards.
Murray in a measured statement said: “I’m sure the LTA saw the coverage that was given… the amount of media covering it, and think that’s what’s best for the tournament in Birmingham. But, I’m sure it’s split a lot of opinion,”
“I’m sure the discussions about whether to give it or not were long… but they’ve obviously done what they think is right for that event and maybe haven’t thought as much about the wider implications.”
Sharapova, who recently completed a 15-month ban for testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open has been offered a number of wildcards by events including Stuttgart, Madrid and now Birmingham. Sharapova has not formally announced whether she intends to accept the Birmingham wildcard yet, in a draw that features a number of top 10 players with Svetlana Kuznetsova and the pregnant Serena Williams notable exceptions.
The French Open and Wimbledon have not yet announced their respective decisions with regards to Sharapova’s situation. Sharapova could improve her ranking sufficiently before Wimbledon to make it into a draw directly, either the main or the qualifying. However, after her defeat in Stuttgart, Sharapova can now not make any draw in Paris directly, and will require a wildcard to feature in either the qualifying draw or the main draw.
