Guess Who's Back? Queen of the Tennis Court Maria Sharapova Returns to Action
Guess Who's Back? Queen of the Tennis Court Maria Sharapova Returns to Action
Sputnik International
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova is ready to get back in the fold on the very first day after her 15-month ban ends. On April 26, she will face Italian... 25.04.2017, Sputnik International
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova is ready to get back in the fold on the very first day after her 15-month ban ends. On April 26, she will face Italian tennis player Roberta Vinci in the first-round match of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (WTA) in Stuttgart, Germany.
Sharapova tested positive for meldonium at the January 2016 Australian open and was disqualified for two years on doping charges. Her suspension was reduced to 15 months after an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport when the tennis player claimed that she has taken meldonium for health issues since 2006 and did not know that it was added to the list of banned drugs. Meldonium was only added to the World Anti-Doping Agency list of banned substances on January 1, 2016.
Sharapova's return will become the highlight of the tournament's 40th anniversary celebrations. She was handed a wildcard for the event after her ranking suspension.
Sharapova, who has just recently turned 30, shot to international fame when she won Wimbledon back in 2004 as a 17-year-old. At the time, she was the third youngest player to conquer the All England Club’s famous grass courts.
Russian tennis players from left: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Sharapova, Team Russia captain Anastasia Myskina, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina at a press conference after the International Tennis Federation Fed Cup final draw ceremony on November 13, 2015, in Prague, Czech Republic.
Russia's Maria Sharapova poses with the Suzanne Lenglen Cup with the Eiffel Tower in the background after her victory in the women's singles final against Sara Errani of Italy on June 09, 2012, in Paris, France.
Alongside her brilliant tennis career, the Russian tennis star established the Maria Sharapova Foundation to help children around the world achieve their dreams. She also actively supports Chernobyl-related projects, being herself a child of a couple from the Chernobyl-Affected Area of Belarus.
She made almost $30 million in 2015, according to Forbes, with $23 million of that coming from endorsements and once signed a contract extension with Nike worth a reported $70 million.
Tennis star Maria Sharapova turns down an offer from actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey to try sitting in the driver's seat of the new Porsche 911 RSR on the first of two press days at the 2016 Los Angeles Autoshow in Los Angeles, California, on November 16, 2016.
From left: Agnieszka Radwańska (Poland), Petra Kvitová (Czech Republic), Maria Sharapova (Russia), Serena Williams (US) and Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) ahead of the draw for the Women's Tennis Association Finals in Singapore on October 18, 2014.
In 2012, Maria launched her own premium candy line, Sugarpova, “that reflects the fun, fashionable, sweet side of international tennis sensation Maria Sharapova,” according to the Sugarpova website.
Tennis players Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer participate in Nike's Street Tennis Pro Event in Greenwich Village on August 24, 2015, in New York, US.
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