Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova said she will not request a wildcard for this year’s championships after failing to gain a high enough ranking for direct entry to the main draw.
The 30-year-old Russian, who returned last month from a 15-month doping ban, said on her website she would play in the qualifying event staged the week before.
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“Because of my improved ranking after the first three tournaments of my return, I will also be playing the qualifying of Wimbledon in Roehampton, and will not be requesting a wildcard,” Sharapova said on her website.
The 2004 champion is ranked 211, below the cut-off for direct entry, although her first-round win at this week’s Italian Open means she is assured a place in the qualifying tournament played a few miles away from Wimbledon.
Wimbledon’s wildcard committee, which meets on June 20, could have granted a wildcard to the former world number one.
{{/usCountry}}Wimbledon’s wildcard committee, which meets on June 20, could have granted a wildcard to the former world number one.
{{/usCountry}}READ | Maria Sharapova vows to ‘rise again’ after French Open snub
Sharapova would have needed to reach the semi-finals in Rome to climb high enough to gain a spot in the main Wimbledon draw, but she withdrew during her second round match against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni after injuring her left hamstring.
On Tuesday, two-times French Open champion Sharapova was unexpectedly snubbed by organisers who decided against giving her a wildcard into the main draw or the qualifying event of this year’s tournament, which begins on May 28.