Sharapova made to wait over Wimbledon wildcard

LONDON: Wimbledon chiefs will wait until June 20, just days ahead of the qualifying event, before deciding whether to give a wildcard to former champion Maria Sharapova as she steps up her return from a doping ban.

The Russian, who won Wimbledon in 2004, made her return to competitive tennis at the Stuttgart Open last week following a positive test for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

The 30-year-old won three matches in Stuttgart before losing in the semi-finals and this week re-entered the WTA rankings at a lowly 262.

As a result, she has to rely on wildcards to enter leading WTA tournaments.

The cut-off ranking for Wimbledon qualifying entry will be around 200.

With Sharapova due to compete in the Madrid and Italian Opens, All England Club officials will wait to see if she makes that target, or even qualifies for the main draw by climbing into the top 100, before worrying about the wildcard issue.

“We have a long established process for awarding wildcards. We consider requests for wildcards two weeks before the tournament,” All England Club chief executive Richard Lewis told reporters at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

“There will be a meeting on June 20 at which point it will be clear who has been accepted into the main draw based on rankings.”

The committee that looks into the wildcards will include former British star Tim Henman, three Wimbledon club members including All England Club chairman Philip Brook, two members of the Lawn Tennis Association and a tournament referee.

Brook suggested Sharapova’s Wimbledon pedigree — she also finished runner-up in 2011 — would be taken into consideration if she asks for a wildcard but would not be a deciding factor.