{"id":3980,"date":"2017-08-22T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=3980"},"modified":"2017-08-22T10:16:37","modified_gmt":"2017-08-22T14:16:37","slug":"maria-sharapova-wildcard-us-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2017\/08\/22\/maria-sharapova-wildcard-us-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria Sharapova Wild Card Overshadows US Open Build-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Of all the Grand Slams, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/us-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><strong>US Open<\/strong> <\/a>has always been the one to buck a trend, for better or worse. Introducing equal pay in 1973 was one of their better choices, as was the construction of floodlights to enable night play at a <strong>Grand Slam<\/strong> for the first time. The US Open&#8217;s decision to grant <strong>Maria Sharapova<\/strong> a main draw wildcard is not one of their better ones.<\/p>\n<p>After being <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2017\/05\/16\/maria-sharapova-denied-wild-card-french-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">snubbed by <strong>Roland Garros<\/strong><\/a> and <strong>Wimbledon<\/strong> (although this was never confirmed due to her injury) Maria Sharapova has been awarded a wild card into the US Open. For the first time since the 2016 <strong>Australian Open<\/strong> she is back in a Grand Slam main draw.<br \/>\n<a id=\"sJcJt-sYRYZbZ_2F_xb7UQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/506781854\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'sJcJt-sYRYZbZ_2F_xb7UQ',sig:'gOMKGSxNML2dgMCVJlhvb_Zz05mICT7INfi0l7LdZcw=',w:'594px',h:'446px',items:'506781854',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>&#8220;A wildcard was provided to a past US champion&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>A <strong>USTA<\/strong> spokesperson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2017\/aug\/15\/maria-sharapova-handed-wildcard-us-open\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said of the decision<\/a>, &#8220;her suspension under the terms of the tennis anti-doping programme was completed and therefore was not one of the factors weighed in our wildcard selection process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsistent with past practice, a wildcard was provided to a past US champion who needed the wildcard for entry into the main draw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdditionally Sharapova has volunteered to speak to young tennis players at the USTA national campus about the importance of the tennis anti-doping programme and the personal responsibility each player has to comply with the programme\u2019s requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is, in all honesty, a baffling decision by the US Open. The tone set by the French Open and Wimbledon meant the US Open had a free pass. They could easily avoid controversy by following the lead of the other Slams. No one, other than Sharapova&#8217;s fans, would have batted an eyelid if she had been denied another wild card.<br \/>\n<a id=\"G1W6NIVxQhR2WmR5Kx7lPA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/826026482\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'G1W6NIVxQhR2WmR5Kx7lPA',sig:'Zuki2T146d9h8MZHabVQmEaQqJSy1biUFmVD6uHv9P8=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'826026482',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Money over morals<\/h3>\n<p>Instead they have opted to take the commercial route and give Sharapova a chance. To an extent it makes sense. All the arguments for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2017\/04\/22\/maria-sharapova-wildcard-roland-garros\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">why Maria Sharpova should\u00a0have got\u00a0a wildcard to Roland Garros <\/a>translate to the US Open. She is a former champion and\u00a0a seat-filler. She has served her time. Lastly, she provides constant stories for the media to promote the tournament. From a commercial standpoint it makes total sense.<\/p>\n<p>From a moral standpoint though it is a big blow to the US Open&#8217;s reputation. Following the fallout to <strong>Justin Gatlin&#8217;s<\/strong> party-spoiling moment at the <strong>2017 World Athletics Championships<\/strong>, you would think giving a platform to a player who has served a lengthy drugs ban would be the last thing the US Open would want to do.<\/p>\n<p>The USTA said that it did not consider Maria Sharapova&#8217;s drug ban in it&#8217;s wild card process. What a terrible, terrible message to send out. This is telling everyone, &#8220;it does not matter if you serve a drugs ban, as long as you are a good player we will let you come back&#8221;.<br \/>\n<a id=\"DZfFl9UqTrByuRk5oIJSZg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/826745726\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'DZfFl9UqTrByuRk5oIJSZg',sig:'L6yE_MBxr-5eRHUnyjoAausaA_fku53kDhpKs5DCe6E=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'826745726',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Has Maria Sharapova denied a youngster a wild card opportunity?<\/h3>\n<p>There is the second argument that her inclusion denies a young, promising player a chance in the main draw. That is slightly undone by the failure of the USTA to give a wild card to high-flying 18-year-old <strong>Denis Shapovalov<\/strong>, deciding instead to focus on their own talent. An understandable but questionable decision.<\/p>\n<p>It is inevitable that her addition to the roster will also see other players bombarded with repetitive questions about her inclusion. Not only are these questions supremely dull but they leave a sour taste in the mouths of fans during the opening days.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, Maria Sharapova&#8217;s wild card will dominate discussion in the opening few days. Whichever way you look, her name will be on everybody&#8217;s lips. That might be exactly what the US Open wants, but for most tennis fans it is a\u00a0tedious way to start a tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"zRQHpWnYRw1Z3LujohAVQw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/826026384\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'zRQHpWnYRw1Z3LujohAVQw',sig:'ApNBy8RqTEsJdmDOIe7fNl40nRyt21k-y_eAMsxcSBA=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'826026384',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Of all the Grand Slams, the US Open has always been the one to buck a trend, for better or worse. Introducing equal pay in 1973 was one of their better choices, as was the construction of floodlights to enable night play at a Grand Slam for the first time. The US Open&#8217;s decision to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1355,"featured_media":4073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,2,4],"tags":[776,894,898,43,1733],"class_list":["post-3980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-open","category-featured","category-wta","tag-denis-shapovalov","tag-maria-sharapova","tag-meldonium","tag-us-open","tag-usta"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}