TORONTO: Maria Sharapova’s comeback from a doping ban will include an appearance at the Rogers Cup in August after the former world number one was granted a wild card by the organisers of the Toronto tournament on Tuesday.

Sharapova returned to the court last month after serving a 15-month suspension when she tested positive for a banned substance at last year’s Australian Open and the Russian star has so far been handed three wild cards to play WTA events.

The Russian reached the semi-finals of her first event back on the tour in Stuttgart but was surprisingly denied a wild card for the French Open with organisers uneasy about fast-tracking her into a tournament she has won twice.

The 30-year-old, a five-time Grand Slam champion, has said she will play in Wimbledon qualifying in July, needing three wins to reach the main draw.

Sharapova will make her first appearance in Canada since 2014 at the Rogers Cup, to be played August 7-13, as a hardcourt tuneup for the year’s final Grand Slam event, the US Open, which begins on August 28.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to Canada,” Sharapova said. “I have some great memories of playing Toronto in the past and the tournament and the fans have always been so supportive. This is one of the biggest events of the year and I hope to play my best tennis that week.”

Sharapova was issued a two-year suspension after testing positive for the banned heart drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban on appeal.

The Russian is now ranked 173rd. If her ranking rises and she makes the main draw on her own, the wild card will go to another player.

Her best showing in Canada came in 2009 when she reached the Toronto final.

Rogers Cup tournament director Karl Hale called Sharapova a “fan favourite”, noting she has completed her punishment.

“Maria is a Grand Slam champion and a fan favourite,” said tournament director Karl Hale. “She has served her suspension and we know our guests will be excited to see her play.”

A number of players have been outspoken about Sharapova receiving free passes into tournaments.

Canada’s top female player, Eugenie Bouchard remains one of Sharapova’s fiercest critics and maintains the Russian “cheater” should have been banned for life and not welcomed back to tennis so enthusiastically.

The pair met in a feisty second round encounter in Madrid earlier this month with the 23-year-old Canadian emerging a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 winner.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2017