Maria Sharapova's racket sponsor supports French Open’s decision to not give her wildcard

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Johan Eliasch the chief executive of Maria Sharapova’s racket sponsor Head, has backed the French Open’s decision not to give her a wildcard entry into the upcoming event at Roland Garros. However, he also blamed WADA for not doing their duty properly which led to the start of the ongoing situation.

Eliasch has come out in support of Sharapova’s French open snub on Tuesday saying,“I fully support the grand-slam tournament’s decision. “I don’t think there should be wild cards for doping offenders…”, as reported by The Times.

However, the Swedish billionaire has previously been critical of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) role in the whole scenario and once again reinforced his point of view saying, “What also disappoints me is the fact that WADA has not conducted their business properly. What I think is still very wrong is the fact that WADA has been allowed to enforce the rule without any form of evidence or clinical testing. If WADA is to have any credibility, they have to stick to their own rules.”

In the WADA’s defense, a spokesperson said that organization had followed all due procedures and processes before including the substance to its banned list. “The Wada List Expert Group undertook a very thorough consultation process in 2015. Following this process, it was determined that meldonium was being used by athletes with the intent of enhancing performance. Meldonium met the required criteria to be added to the list — this included evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance… It remains on the prohibited list.”

Sharapova returned from a 15-month doping ban last month and since then has received wildcard entries into the tournaments at Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome. However, the two-time French Open champion failed to qualify for the second Grand Slam of the year after not accumulating enough points. And the organizers denied her a wildcard on moral grounds, saying that doing so would mean failure to protect the game.

Did you know, Sharapova is the only Russian woman to hold the Career Grand Slam

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