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| Maria Sharapova will return to competitive action following a 15-month doping ban at the Stuttgart Grand Prix in April |
Five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova will return to competitive action following a 15-month doping ban at the Stuttgart Grand Prix in April, the Russian said.
The Florida-based Sharapova was originally banned for two years after testing positive for meldonium at last yearโs Australian Open.
The former world number one, one of the highest paid athletes in the world in the past decade, admitted she had used meldonium for years and was not aware it had been banned since the start of 2016.
Her suspension was later cut to 15 months on appeal.
โI could not be happier to have my first match back on tour at one of my favourite tournaments,โ Russian Sharapova, who won the indoor clay event three years running from 2012, said on the tournament website.
โI canโt wait to see all my great fans and to be back doing what I love.โ
She will return to action in time to contest the seasonโs second grand slam at Roland Garros. The French Open begins on May 22.
โIโm really happy for Maria that sheโs back after a long break. Particularly pleasing for me is that itโs going to be our audience that gets to watch her comeback live,โ said tournament director Markus Guenthardt.
โIt is certain to be one of the sporting and emotional highlights of our anniversary tournament.โ
Sharapova, who will turn 30 on April 19, had earned $29.7 million in 2015 as the worldโs highest paid female athlete.
She had called the International Tennis Federationโs (ITF) original ruling โunfairly harshโ as an independent tribunal had found that she had not intentionally violated anti-doping rules.
