Maria Sharapova Awarded U.S. Open Wild Card, First Grand Slam Since Doping Ban
Maria Sharapova was given a wild card entry into the U.S. Open, which will mark her first Grand Slam event since returning to the tour in April following a 15-month doping suspension.
Sharapova was suspended after testing positive for Meldonium. She appealed her two-year suspension and it was reduced by the Court of arbitration for Sport. The ruling determined that Sharapova was not guilty of doping but was not at fault for taking Meldonium after it was added to the banned substance list by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Sharapova was denied an entry into the French Open earlier this year after the tournament cited that wild cards given to athletes recovering from injuries and not doping bans. Sharapova didn't compete at Wimbledon due to a thigh injury.
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Sharapova is currently ranked No. 148 in the world. She won the 2006 U.S. Open and has reached the semifinals in 2005 and 2012. She has five Grand Slam titles in her career with the latest at the French Open in 2014.
Other women's wild card entries were granted to Taylor Townsend, Kayla Day, Sofia Kenn, Ashley Kratzer, Amandine Hesse and Brienne Minor. On the men's side, the wildcards have been awarded to Taylor Fritz, Bjorn Fratangelo, Christopher Eubanks, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Patrick Kypson, Tommy Paul, Geoffrey Blancaneaux and Alex de Minaur.
The U.S. Open main draw begins on Aug. 28.
