Maria Sharapova’s Wildcard Grant a ‘Marketing’ Strategy: WADA and ITF Blamed for ‘Not Doing a Good Job’

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner is being granted wildcards on tournaments following her return to tennis after an imposed ban due to use of a doping substance called meldonium. The wildcard grant is believed to be a good marketing strategy to make people watch the games.

Andy Murray, Tennis world number one, says that Maria Sharapova's being granted of a wildcard isn't right. He believes that athletes returning from a ban should start from scratch again to climb the rankings and be illegible again for a wildcard grant. However, he also claims that "having big names there is going to sell more seats," News Week reported.

Maria Sharapova was granted wildcards for tournaments in Rome and Stuttgart, Madrid. However, her world rankings fell down to scratch, but she is expected to return flawlessly back to the top because of her calibre in tennis. She could even make it back to being a Grand Slam winner in no time.

The famed tennis player from Russia tested positive of meldonium, a substance prescribed to her by a family doctor because of a family history of heart condition. She has used the substance for a decade without any problem, but the recent list of doping substances included the drug which backfired a 2-year suspension on Maria Sharapova's tennis career.

Now, Maria Sharapova has been preparing for her official return to tennis tournaments on April 26 after she submitted a petition for the lifting of her ban from the sport. She claims that she isn't intentionally taking the substance to cheat - but rather was unaware that meldonium was listed on the banned substances. Even the panel who reviewed the petition of Sharapova believes that WADA and ITF didn't do a "good job" of making sure that players like Sharapova knew the complete details about the banned substances, ESPN reported.

Meldonium was not illegal until Dec. 31, 2016, but the implementation caused a stir by the start of 2016 resulting to a ban on a number of athletes - specifically Russia in which meldonium is common in by the name Mildronate. During her 15-month ban, Sharapova spent time in learning to box, studied at Harvard and wrote a book to keep her in shape and occupied. Her sponsors - Nike, Porsche and Evian - already expressed their support and excitement over Maria Sharapova's return.