Players caught in doping cases should not be given wild cards says Andy Murray

Maria Sharapova is set to make a return to professional tennis after she was banned in January last year for the use of Meldonium, a prohibited drug. Her original ban was for two years, which was reduced to 15 months later after an appeal. With her return on the cards, she had been offered three wild cards this season.Although there has been a lot of talk surrounding the credibility of her receiving wild cards.

Andy Murray, the world number one, has said to the press, that players caught in doping cases should not be given wild cards and should be starting right from the scratch. With the  French open fast approaching, she will require a wild cad to enter. She has received a wild card at Stuttgart, where she will  begin her 2017 campaign. Andy Murray said that tournaments usually provide wild cards to big players so that they can sell more tickets. They don’t usually care about the consequences of what it might look like to the neutral crowd. He also went on to say, ” she has got enough time before Wimbledon to raise her rankings, and if she fails to do so, then it would be Wimbledon’s decision, and how they would want to play it, and how the people will look at it too”. Maria Sharapova no more has a world ranking and Wimbledon faces a dilemma, on her being included in the main singles draw. Sure enough when a player is coming back from an injury, it is fair enough to provide him with a wild card, but for players banned due to the doping tests, it should be an entirely different scenario, regardless of the class, caliber and history of the player, as it creates an example to the youngsters and aspiring players.