Maria Sharapova’s Blueprint to Return to Elite Form After Her Suspension

Maria Sharapova will be back on the WTA tour April 26, nine months earlier than the suspension she had received after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. The five-time major-winning superstar expressed her joy at the decision.

“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,” she told the media, per BBC Sport.

Now that she has a target date to return, Sharapova will invest her efforts to return one week after her 30th birthday. It will be springtime with the ascending peak of the clay-court season in preparation for the French Open, the major tournament she can mostly likely win again.

It won’t be that easy, though. April 26 will merely be the beginning of a long and winding road if she is to become an elite player once again.

Hurdles to Leap

Sharapova will come back to the WTA with zero ranking points. Although she’s arguably the most popular player ever in women’s tennis, and formerly the highest-paid female athlete in the world, she will not be seeded with preferential draws.

Instead, Sharapova will have to gain wild-card entries at tournaments and vie against top stars earlier in the draws. One week could see her matched up against Angelique Kerber or Serena Williams in the second round, and a week later she could be opening against Simona Halep or Garbine Muguruza.

Of course, the other top WTA superstars might not be so thrilled drawing a determined Sharapova in the early rounds, but tournament organizers will be more than happy to see the “marketing queen” of endorsements help sell tickets.

Sharapova might be a contender at the French Open or Wimbledon, if she regains her timing quickly and has fortunate draws, but it will be several more months before she could climb into the top 10, possibly sometime in early 2018, if she …

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