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Agence France-Presse

Maria Sharapova returns to tennis this week following her 15-month ban having tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
The organisers of Stuttgart’s WTA tournament sparked controversy by giving her a wild card to play on Wednesday, which is the first day she is eligible to play again, which has divided tennis.
Here is what the game’s top names have to say:
Caroline Wozniacki
“I think it’s very questionable, allowing, no matter who it is, a player that is still banned to play a tournament that week. From the tournament side, it’s disrespectful to the other players and the WTA. But it is what it is. Obviously rules are twisted and turned in favour of who wants to do what.”

Agnieszka Radwanska
“This kind of entry into the tournament should apply to players who dropped in the ranking because of injury, illness or some other random event. Not for those suspended for doping. Maria should recover some other way, starting with smaller events.”
Angelique Kerber
“It’s a German tournament, and we [have] so many good German players, so this is also a little bit strange. It’s also strange for the players, that she can walk on site on Wednesday and she can play on Wednesday.”
Money talks as Sharapova is welcomed back to tennis after drug ban – by everyone except fellow players her agent slams as ‘journeymen’
Andy Murray
“I think you should really have to work your way back.The majority of tournaments are going to do what they think is best for their event. If they think having big names there is going to sell more seats, then they’re going to do that.”

3️⃣ Days⏱ @MariaSharapova #Anticipating pic.twitter.com/2WBVkJ4r1I
— Team Sharapova (@team_sharapova) April 23, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
“Honestly, offering an invitation right now will be like giving a candy to a child who has misbehaved.”
Dominika Cibulkova
“It’s not about her, but everyone who was doping should start from zero.”
Bad blood: Maria Sharapova’s return to action after a reduced ban for doping raises ire on the tour
Victoria Azarenka
“I think it’s good for tennis. She has such a huge fanbase and obviously that’s going to bring more attraction to see how she will do, so I think it’s good for tennis, good entertainment.”
Svetlana Kuznetsova
“If we talk about cheaters, people who cheat, you would say: ‘Why would cheaters get a wild card?’, but then if there is some mistake, you know, it’s a little bit of a different story.”

️= pic.twitter.com/Ys6P2OZGJZ
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) April 21, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

Venus Williams
“The bodies have made their decision, and she has an opportunity to come back and continue her career. I think she should be allowed to continue that. If people want to give her wild cards, I guess that’s the tournaments’ decision. It will be nice to have her back in the game.”
How did she get away with it? Samantha Stosur slams Maria Sharapova’s reduced drug ban
Juan Martin del Potro
“I think for the tennis world it is gonna be nice to see her back. Everybody’s waiting for her.”
Novak Djokovic
“From my opinion, I see that there was no intention in doing that [doping], because the rules changed, but it was an error and mistake that she and her team in a way had to take the consequences and pay for and the suspension is there rightly so.”

Maria Sharapova’s Stuttgart return from doping ban divides rivals

Maria Sharapova in action in November 2015. Photo: EPA

FILE - In this Monday March 7, 2016 file photo, tennis star Maria Sharapova speaks about her failed drug test at the Australia Open during a news conference in Los Angeles. Maria Sharapova will find out the week starting May 15, 2017, if she can compete at the French Open, the French Tennis Federation said. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Maria Sharapova fighting fit as she prepares to return after dope ban

Maria Sharapova’s ban ends on April 24. Photo: EPA

Maria Sharapova signs autographs at a sports conference as she nears the end of her 15-month doping suspension in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. The former No. 1 player plans to return to tennis next month at a tournament in Germany. (AP Photo/Greg Beacham)

epaselect epa05200026 Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova at a press conference where she announced that she failed a drug test after being tested positive for Meldonium at the Australian Open at a press conference at the LA Downtown Hotel in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 March 2016. The anti-ischemic drug 'Meldonium' has been added to the latest list of forbidden susbtances issued by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), which has added caffeine and nicotine to substances it is monitoring. EPA/MIKE NELSON

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 file photo, Maria Sharapova speaks to members of the media prior to a World Team Tennis exhibition in Las Vegas, U.S. Sharapova will return from her 15-month doping ban at a tournament in Germany in April. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, file)

Maria Sharapova to learn of verdict on doping appeal by Tuesday

(FILES) This file photo taken on March 07, 2016 shows Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova speaking during a press conference in Los Angeles. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has been banned for two years after failing a drug test, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on June 8, 2016. Sharapova tested positive for the controversial banned medication meldonium during January's Australian Open. / AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK

Maria Sharapova of Russia speaks during a news conference at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia on January 1, 2013. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Maria Sharapova’s ex-boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov says she deserved her ban for doping

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria dated Maria Sharapova for two years until they split in July 2015. Photo: AFP

Maria Sharapova of Russia plays in the Australian Open in this file photo taken in January 2016. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Oct. 4 that it has decided to reduce by nine months the two-year ban that the International Tennis Federation imposed on the former world No. 1 in women's singles for using a prohibited drug. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

No advantage: Maria Sharapova out of Olympic Games as Court of Arbitration for Sport delays doping decision

Maria Sharapova at the 2016 Australian Open. Photos: AP

FILE - In this July 27, 2012 file photo Russia's Maria Sharapova carries the flag during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The credibility of the fight against doping in sports will be at stake Friday, June 17, 2016 when track and field's world governing body decides whether to uphold or lift its ban on Russian athletes ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Sports geopolitics — and the key issue of individual justice vs. collective punishment — frame the debate heading into the meeting of IAAF leaders in Vienna. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)

FILE - This is a Monday, March 7, 2016 file photo showing tennis star Maria Sharapova speakings about her failed drug test at the Australia Open during a news conference in Los Angeles. Sharapova says she's headed to Harvard Business School while she serves a two-year doping ban. Representatives for Harvard and Sharapova didn't immediately comment Monday, June 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2016 file photo, Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after defeating Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia. Sharapova says she's headed to Harvard Business School while she serves a two-year doping ban. Representatives for Harvard and Sharapova didn't immediately comment Monday, June 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova admits failing drug test at Australian Open, faces long ban

Tennis player Maria Sharapova addresses the media regarding a failed drug test at The LA Hotel Downtown on Monday. Photo: AFP

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova leaves at the end of a press conference in Los Angeles, on March 7, 2016. The former world number one announced she failed a doping test at the Australian Open, saying a change in the World-Anti-Doping Agency banned list led to the violation. Sharapova said she tested positive for Meldonium, a substance she had been taking since 2006 but one that was added to the banned list this year. / AFP / ROBYN BECK

Sharapova acknowledged that she could now face a ban from the tennis authorities. Photo: AFP

Sharapova in action in the Australian Open quarter-final match against Serena Williams before she failed the drugs test. Photo: Kyodo

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Russian will make her comeback from a 15-month ban this week having tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open


Maria Sharapova’s Stuttgart return from doping ban divides rivals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Russian will make her comeback from a 15-month ban this week having tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open

Russian will make her comeback from a 15-month ban this week having tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open