Looks like Maria Sharapova will be back on court next spring and in time for 2017 Roland Garros, a title she has won twice.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has partially upheld Sharapova’s appeal of the two-year ban she received earlier this year for using the banned substance Meldonium (which was added to the banned list on January 1, 2016). Sharapova, who had tested positive for Meldonium after her quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open to Serena Williams, has had her ban reduced from two years to fifteen months.
The former WTA world No. 1 is eligible to return to the WTA Tour on April 26th, 2017.
“I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement posted to her Facebook page. “In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back. Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.”
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« Previous 1 2 3Scoop Malinowski · October 10, 2016 at 7:56 pm
Zverev is the best teenager in the world right now and he could very well win a wheel barrow full of majors in the next eight year – Usually the one young star gets that edge and just wins everything (like Fed Pete Lendl Nadal) – I can see Aye Zee being that guy –
Scoop Malinowski · October 10, 2016 at 8:02 pm
Andrew: No Raonic does not need major changes just fine tuning and modifying – the arsenal is there but he just needs that lil extra – the time is right for him to figure it out – Djokovic is slipping – there’s no two ways about it – this summer showed slippage by Djokovic and a loss of swagger and confidence because of those losses to Q Ball Delpo and Stan in the US Open final – Djokovic could have peaked – Raonic has to hope for further Djokovic slippage and of course Andy to hit a big bump in the road – But then Raonic could run into Kyrgios or Nishikori – it won’t be easy for Raonic to get that danged gorilla off his back –
Scoop Malinowski · October 10, 2016 at 8:05 pm
Hartt: Dancevic had that run in Tor/montreal cincy indy part of the summer but he never really equaled it again – who knows why not – could be physically he’s not quite strong enough – also impressive is that Canada has a lot of female teenagers doing well – Tennis Canada is well balanced and fortified to be the next superpower –
Andrew Miller · October 10, 2016 at 11:07 pm
Scoop, because of Djokovic’ quality of game – it’s compact, durable, and doesn’t let him down much, I think he’ll be back in the swing of things. I think off court squabbles grounded him momentarily, but he has another major “run of finals” in him at least, maybe two.
For Raonic I think he’s doing the right things. I think it was a dumb decision to skip the Olympics but he knows that and it affected him for the US Open, not for the Australian or any part of 2017. He could also have a nice run at WTF or skip it all together, though I think if he is ready he should play it and go for it, send a message to the field that this year wasn’t a fluke.
Johnson and Sock both outrank Isner right now, incredible, and Querrey’s within shouting distance too. Not a bad year for the U.S players with four in the top 30 and more on the way.
Yes, the way those young players are moving up and winning challengers early and often, I think the field’s opening up nicely for them. That’s why the old-ish guard, the veterans entering their prime years, ought to make hay now. The big five is formidable and you have to beat them to win big tournaments, but they are relatively weaker and are due to have more bad tournaments on average due to age alone, prep needs, prep H (ha!) etc. Yes they are young, but not for the tour – for the tour they are ancient!
Andrew Miller · October 10, 2016 at 11:11 pm
Scoop I remember that Dancevic run. He was playing well and then faded – a ten year fade. Then he started popping up at challengers – and getting beaten by new players. It’s a tough sport!
Hartt · October 11, 2016 at 7:24 am
Scoop, I love the idea of a Davis Cup final between Canada and the US within a few years – hope it happens.
A few years ago Tennis Canada imported several guys from the French player development system and it looks like that has paid off. It does not have a lot of money compared to the federations in some countries such as Britain and the USA, so has had to use its funds wisely.The national training centre in Montreal has had an impact, helping to develop some of those top juniors, both boys and girls. Others, such as Shapovalov, decided not to train there but I think he is now getting some assistance from Tennis Canada. (And he did do some training at the Tennis Canada centre in Toronto when he was younger.)
Hartt · October 11, 2016 at 7:32 am
It’s great that the youngsters are starting to have good results. We need new faces in tennis to keep things interesting. More opportunities should open up for them because some of the older players are starting to fade, and there are a lot of older players! I counted 40 in the ATP top 100 who are 30 or older.
catherine bell · October 11, 2016 at 7:45 am
Hartt-
I believe, although I don’t keep up with goings on at the LTA too much, that we have a former Canadian tennis boss running things here.
Can’t say that he’s changed much in any obvious way but then nothimg much has changed at the LTA in my living memory except the size of the staff and the salaries (both bigger and bigger).
Scoop Malinowski · October 11, 2016 at 8:34 am
Andrew: I am beginning to believe Djokovic has peaked and is not improving – and you know the deal when a player stops improving – the younger lions are improving and getting stronger – I think this summer revealed a crack in the Djokovic armor – Isner looks done as a top ten and major contender while Johnson and Sock are both on the upsurge and they are neck and neck in the rankings too – Querrey is close too – Tiafoe is really proving to be a dynamo despite the technical flaws the critics harped on – Very possible that Tiafoe is going to be an ATP beast –
Scoop Malinowski · October 11, 2016 at 8:38 am
Hartt: And Nathalie Tauziat is involved too as she coaches Bianca Andreescu who is a top player – Shapovalov just lost to Smyczek in Fairfield CA Challenger – Paul plays Novikov to try to get off the skid – Opelka has a WC – Kozlov lost in Vietnam to that talented Japanese/Brazilian kid who was born in NYC –
Scoop Malinowski · October 11, 2016 at 8:41 am
Hart it is incredible how many older guys like F Lopez and Ferrer and Karlovic and Jaziri keep grinding and are still solid players getting good results and they appear to be years away from fading out off the stage – These older guys seem to love it more than ever – It certainly is a great life – Wonder why the guys in the other eras got tired of the grind earlier and quit at younger ages – I know Rafter had a bad back when he quit at 29 and Rios was broken down physically at 29 and Safin just got tired of it – I think it would be an interesting feature to ask guys of the previous eras if they regret not playing into their mid to late 30s –
Hartt · October 11, 2016 at 9:04 am
Yes, it is impressive how some of the older players are still playing with passion. But Ferrer is a good example, although he is generally doing well he is more beatable than when he was younger.
It would be interesting to hear if previous players think they should have played longer. Sampras has expressed second thoughts about his retirement but it sounds like he was pretty burned out at the time.
Hartt · October 11, 2016 at 9:10 am
Yes, it’s great that Tauziat is working with Bianca Andreescu, she also worked with Bouchard at 1 point.
Shapovalov has lost early on in Challengers lately. I wonder if he should play some Futures as well; hopefully he would go deeper and it would give him more match play at least.
Hartt · October 11, 2016 at 9:23 am
Catherine, it is Michael Downey who was head of Tennis Canada and now holds the same post for the LTA. When he first started he was quoted as saying that he thought the LTA had so much $ that it was not using its resources wisely. I read that he was trying to make changes but what they were and whether they were at all successful I don’t know. It sounds like the LTA is a tough organization to change!
Andrew Miller · October 11, 2016 at 11:02 am
Scoop, you’re right on players’ improvement etc. But Djokovic’s still got the magic. He isn’t “in decline”, and his compact game and work ethic always push him ahead when others are slacking off.
Prime example. Djokovic and Murray consistently show up at Australian Open far ahead of most players in terms of their conditioning. That doesn’t mean they are always in the finals, but one or the other has been in the Australian Open final for 6 of the last 7 years (2010-2016). Only 2014, where Wawrinka knocked off Djokovic in the quarters (which means, in the last 6 years, if Djokovic reached the Australian open final he won 100 percent of them) was an anomaly. And it wasn’t even an anomaly, given it was payback for the 2013 Australian, where Djokovic barely escaped the Stanimal, 12-10 in the fifth set of the round of sixteen!
As much as I want to say, “and now Djokovic is in steep decline”, the evidence just isn’t there for it at all. This year a personal issue knocked him off his rocker (or, through being stupid, he knocked himself off his rocker), but that seems like it’s quickly becoming “past tense”.
I don’t see him winning both Australia and the French, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts himself in position to win one of them or both of them.
He has an immediate task in front of him – the Shanghai Masters. He wins this & world tour finals, I think we’ll have to put the speculation aside and say he’s still in his prime and few are on that level.
Scoop Malinowski · October 11, 2016 at 12:18 pm
No one said “steep decline” Andrew -the more like slight decline – when the greats in boxing decline it’s always gradual and slight it’s never a steep decline – one punch KO losses in boxing happen like with how Lennox Lewis lost twice by one punch KOs but he came back to avenge both losses and achieve a great great career after those losses – Djokovic beat Fognini today 63 63 but he was 7-0 vs Fog and now is 8-0 – Fog is no threat to Djokovic –
Scoop Malinowski · October 11, 2016 at 12:20 pm
Shapovalov has that giant X on his back now – the other players all know he is a dangerous player and are on guard –
Hartt · October 11, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Scoop, yes imagine you are right about Shapovalov and the other players being on guard. One of many lessons for the youngster.