Maria Sharapova, who returned from a 15-month doping ban on Wednesday, looked relaxed while training at the tournament venue for the first time, having had to practise at a tennis hall on the outskirts of the city since Friday under the rules of her ban.
Her match on Wednesday was her first since a quarterfinal loss to bitter rival Serena Williams at the 2016 Australian Open. Just weeks after that defeat Sharapova announced she had tested positive for meldonium .
An initial two-year suspension was cut to 15 months and the 30-year-old is now without a world ranking, requiring wildcards from tournaments and dividing opinion just as she has done ever since she burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old Wimbledon winner in 2004.
“For Maria it will certainly have been hard to have been on the outside for so long,” said former World No.1 Kim Clijsters, speaking in Stuttgart. “Let’s see how she presents herself here — there is a world of difference between training and tournaments.”
Stuttgart is the first event to hand her a wildcard, which was not surprising as the event is sponsored by Porsche, one of the Russian’s many high-profile personal sponsors.
“I gave her a wildcard with a clear conscience,” said tournament director Markus Guenthardt. “The spectators are looking forward to seeing Maria.”
Forthcoming tournaments in Madrid and Rome have followed suit. With the likes of Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova sidelined — and potential heir Eugenie Bouchard struggling —women’s tennis needs pulling power and Sharapova ticks all the boxes.
However, many rivals say that having committed a doping violation, she should be rubbing shoulders with the sport’s lower orders in qualifying, grinding out a path back to the big time.
World No. 5 Simona Halep , the fourth seed in Stuttgart, believed handing Sharapova a wildcard sent completely the wrong signal.
“I can’t support what the tournament director has done but in my opinion, for children and young players, it’s not OK to help players who were banned for doping with wildcards,” said the Romanian.
Three-time Stuttgart champion Sharapova, never one for cosy locker room chat, will not be concerned by what’s being said as she has a bigger goal — a place at the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year which she has won twice.
Roland Garros organisers say they will make a decision on a wildcard for the main draw by the week of May 15. There is speculation that Paris might meet her half way by granting a wildcard into the qualifying tournament instead.
However, she still has powerful advocates in the sport, including WTA chief Steve Simon. “You have to look at how other leagues and tours have handled players who have come back,” Simon told BBC Sport. “They come right back to the team and start playing... she is starting at ground zero.”
Bopanna-Cuevas combine exits
Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay were beaten 7-6(3), 7-6(2) by top seeds Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia in the doubles pre-quarterfinals at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday.
Bopanna and Cuevas collected €9,830 and no ATP points. The duo had beaten the same top seeds in Monte Carlo by saving a matchpoint in the quarterfinals, on way to the ATP Masters title last week.
The results:
At Barcelona: ATP Barcelona Open: Second round: Andy Murray w/o Bernard Tomic; Daniel Evans bt Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-4; Pablo Carreno-Busta bt Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-2; Benoit Paire bt Marcel Granollers 6-3, 7-6(6).
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Henri Kontinen & John Peers bt Pablo Cuevas & Rohan Bopanna 7-6(3), 7-6(2).
At Stuttgart: WTA Porsche GP: Elena Vesnina bt Daria Kasatkina 7-6(2), 6-2; Carla Suarez Navarro bt Tamara Korpatsch 6-2, 6-4; Johanna Konta bt Naomi Osaka 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1 .
