Fendrich on Tennis: Sharapova's French 'ban' raises question

When returning from a drug suspension with a ranking too low to earn access to tournaments, a player is (or is not) entitled to wild-card entries.

[...] Sharapova will not compete at the French Open after that country's tennis federation announced Tuesday it opted not to allow the two-time champion into the field because of her recently concluded 15-month doping ban.

[...] she did, after all, return to the WTA tour last month; she tested positive for the newly banned drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January 2016.

There are no grounds for any member of the (tennis anti-doping program) to penalize any player beyond the sanctions set forth in the final decision resolving these matters.

The WTA is not contemplating any change to rules governing wild cards for players returning from a suspension.

The 30-year-old Russian was granted wild cards by three clay-court tournaments: in Stuttgart, Germany, in April, followed by Madrid last week, and then Rome, where she quit because of a left thigh injury during a match Tuesday.

Sharapova skipped a news conference afterward, issuing a statement about the injury but saying nothing about the French Open decision.