Maria Sharapova To Return To Tennis In January?
Five-times grand slam winner Maria Sharapova, banned in June for two years for doping offences, may be allowed to return in January, according to Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) president Shamil Tarpishchev. Former world number one Sharapova, 29, was suspended following a positive test for the banned drug meldonium during January’s Australian Open.
“Everything will be decided in September. It is impossible to say for certain but I think she will start playing again by January,” Shamil Tarpishchev, the president of the RTF, was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency yesterday
At the moment, the Russian’s serving a two-year ban that will end on 25th January 2018, but Sharapova appealed against the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming it was unfair. The CAS last month decided to defer its decision until 19 September as both Sharapova and the ITF said they needed more time to respond to their respective evidentiary submissions.
Using the time from tennis she is taking a business course at Harvard business school, Sharapova is one of the most popular athletes in the world due to her success on court and glamour off it. She won five Grand Slam titles and a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics. She has won a total of 38 tournaments, and despite the ban, is the second highest paid female athlete in the world.