Maria Sharapova's near return to compete in the world tennis circuit has most of her fans and tennis fans in general excited. It's been more than a year since Maria Sharapova last played in a tournament. There are still, however, some individuals who are not at all too pleased with Maria Sharapova returning on the tennis court. World No.1 ranked men's singles tennis player Andy Murray is one of those individuals. Just to clear things out, it's not the upcoming return of Maria Sharapova to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) events that Andy Murray's not happy about. It's the way the Women's Tennis Association has been handling Maria Sharapova's upcoming return.
For Andy Murray, players, regardless of their status in the sport and who have been handed down suspensions due to doping violations like Maria Sharapova, shouldn't be given any kind of special favors by the Women's Tennis Association upon their return to competitive tennis, according to a report from ESPN. Maria Sharapova has already been given wild card entry to Women's Tennis Association tournaments in Rome, Stuttgart and Madrid.
"I think you should really have to work your way back," Andy Murray said.
Andy Murray also added that most Women's Tennis Association events, unfortunately, will always look out what's best for their event, which is to sell more seats and make more money. Maria Sharapova is a big star in tennis and her talents and great looks will always be a big crowd drawer in Women's Tennis Association events.
Maria Sharapova, 29, would still have to apply for a wild card to compete in the next Grand Slam at Roland Garros in May. As for Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova may not need to apply for a wild card if she can earn enough ranking points in time to qualify for the main draw. But for Andy Murray, it's still Wimbledon's decision if they want to grant a wild card for Maria Sharapova if ever she can't earn enough ranking points.
Maria Sharapova was initially suspended for two years after testing positive for meldonium in January last year at the Australian Open. The suspension was reduced to fifteen months, after an appeal by Maria Sharapova, via a report from The New York Times. Andy Murray has been critical of Maria Sharapova ever since her suspension and has blasted even his own raquet sponsor Head fro still staying with Maria Sharapova even after she was caught doping.
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