The return of Maria Sharapova to tennis is a relief to many of us who have believed her in potential. Since her appearance in the sport back in 2003 and her first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon the following year, many have taken on Sharapova as their ultimate favorite.
Some worried that she might be another Anna Kournikova who had all the beauty but none of the game that really counted.
She clearly made that thought disappear the following year making the semis of three of four slams before winning again with her first U.S. Open title in 2006. Sharapova has won 30 WTA titles and took home a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was just a short time later that aside from her game that was at the top of the best, she decided to find another interest of running a business.
That same year she created the Sugarpova candy company that began with gourmet gummy candies that were flying off the shelves. She then implemented tennis into her company where a lemon lime flavor in the shape and texture of a tennis ball were becoming popular with gum chewing fans.
Aside from the thriving business, her game was still at its best despite having troubles taking down Serena Williams who was the number one ranked during those years. Everything began to change at the tail end of the 2015 season when Sharapova was suddenly withdrawing from tournaments that also included the U.S. Open. It was just the fourth absence from Grand Slam tournaments since 2008 and one that left a big hole in the hearts of her massive fan audience.
When the 2016 Australian Open commenced, everyone felt that Sharapova was ready to get started once again and bring her fierce play to the world’s best. The 27-year-old made it to the quarterfinals where she once again lost to Williams in straight sets. What many didn’t see were the facts that we would all get on that fateful March morning in Los Angeles.
When her team informed the world of an important announcement, fans, players, and the media wondered whether she was going to retire or something worse. With the relief of this writer, she instead informed that she had been tested positive at the Australian Open and would be sitting out of tennis for a time.
The former world number one admitted to the world of her being on a drug called Meldonium that she had been taking for quite some time but was put onto the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances as of Jan. 1. Her admittance of the positive test was a slight shock but prouder of the fact that she told everyone she was in the wrong while many other athletes go to congress and lie under oath.
Sharapova made it clear of her intentions to accept the consequences but also to let everyone know that she was not leaving tennis like this and would return as quickly as the sport would let her. After receiving a two-year ban, the Russian superstar fought the lengthy suspension and had it reduced to 15 months giving her a chance to play in April.
While the sport continued without her, many wondered when and where she was going to play. In a surprise to some and funny to others, Sharapova was scheduled to make her return at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart beginning April. 24. Porsche is just one of many sponsors that stayed with her even after admitting her guilt to the world.
Director Markus Guenthardt decided that in a tournament that Sharapova had won three times, she’d be given a wild card spot to immediately be put into the main draw. Many players believe that she should start from scratch as her ranking in the WTA is very much out of the spotlight. Her absence and positive testing should cost her to start from the bottom and work her way back up.
“I think it’s very questionable, allowing (no matter who it is) a player that is still banned to play a tournament that week,” Caroline Wozniacki said. “I think it’s disrespectful to the other players and the WTA. But, you know, it is what it is. Obviously, rules are twisted and turned in favor of who wants to do that.”
Guenthardt has the power to run his tournament as he sees fit and made the move as a way of saying that Sharapova deserves it. By the tournament’s start, Sharapova will have served 15 months of suspension and will fight her way back to the top.
While on suspension, the 28-year-old hasn’t been sitting around waiting for this moment to arrive. On her Instagram page, Sharapova has been submitting photos and videos of her training on her home court in Manhattan Beach, California. Aside from her constant training she also has been seeing to the next stage of her business where she introduced the world to Sugarpova chocolate bars that are created with the help of European chocolatiers who bring the best of their talents to create delicious candy bars.
The thriving of her business gives her the confidence that despite being away from the competitive sport, she has every chance of coming back to win, with the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open waiting for her talents and popularity to return.
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