You may see the former world No.1 Maria Sharapova return next year around the end of April! The Russian tennis star was originally banned for 2 years by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) after testing positive for meldonium in January. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has cut off 9 months, therefore she is only now banned for 15 months.  Sharapova is satisfied to hear that she will return back to the professional tour shortly before the French Open, saying that she hoped that she would learn from the experience. “I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned of my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April. In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back. Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court. I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well,” Said Sharapova. CAS came to a conclusion that “The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the Tribunal.” Although Sharapova will be returning next year at the end of April, she will have some obstacles in her way. Sharapova will have to basically start over, as she will come back to the WTA with no ranking points. This means that Sharapova will have to get into tournaments as a wild-cards, probably playing stars like Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber,  or Aga Radwanska in the early rounds. It’s a long way to be back to where she was- in the top 10. On the day of the suspension reduction, she appeared on the Charlie Rose Show, saying that she was born to be “a warrior”. Sharapova also posted the clip on her twitter account.
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Sharapova has learned from her experience and probably will be hungry to play tennis when she returns. The date Sharapova is scheduled to return on the tour is April 26, 2017 Bibliography/Credits: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2667686-maria-sharapovas-blueprint-toreturn-to-elite-form-after-her-suspension from Bleacher Report. Maintained by Bleacher Report. By Jeremy Eckstein. Accessed 10/6/16 http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/04/tennis/tennis-sharapova-cas-drugs/index.html from CNN. Maintained by CNN. By Chris Murphy. Accessed 10/5/16- 10/6/16 http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/tennis/tennis-maria-sharapova-interview-casdrugs-ban/index.html from CNN. Maintained by CNN. By Rob Hodgetts and Alex Thomas. Accessed on 10/6/16