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Maria Sharapova Missed At Wimbledon But Welcomed By Harvard During Suspension

By Jenny Cox
Published on: 02:42 PST, Jun 28, 2016

Maria Sharapova is now starting her two-year ban from the only thing that she has ever known – playing professional tennis. But that doesn’t mean that the 29-year-old athlete is crying herself into depression in her room.

Though she will be missed at this year’s Wimbledon, she is preparing herself to start her program at Harvard Business School.

The tennis player looked happier than ever in this photo.

“Her agent Max Eisenbud said Monday that the program involves two classes on campus,” reports New York Post. “Eisenbud wasn’t clear what certification, if any, she’d earn from the coursework.”

The fact that she was the highest earning female athlete in the world before her drug test came back positive means that she will thrive at Harvard. Maybe when she comes back to the game in 2018, she will be able to show the world that she can maximize her talents on and off the court!

Maria is trying to appeal the ban, or at least reduce it, so she does not have to sit out for important tournaments like Wimbledon when she is at her physical peak.

“Maria Sharapova appealed her two-year doping ban to the highest court in sports Tuesday, and an expedited ruling will be issued next month ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics,” reports ESPN. “She tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January, taking it before each match at that tournament even though the substance was banned at the start of 2016.”

“I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension,” Maria wrote on her Facebook page. “The tribunal, whose members were selected by the ITF, agreed that I did not do anything intentionally wrong, yet they seek to keep me from playing tennis for two years. I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

But of course, the appeal might take much longer than expected. Also the fact that the whole Russian track and fields team got banned from the upcoming Olympics because of the same drug that she took means that her prospects aren’t looking great.

“Russia’s track and field team is barred from competing in the Olympic Games this summer because of a far-reaching doping conspiracy, an extraordinary punishment without precedent in Olympics history,” reports New York Times.

But Maria is getting a lot of sympathy from the officials and critics that are now turning their attention to Wimbledon without one of the world’s top players.

“Nowhere will Sharapova’s absence be felt more than at Wimbledon,” writes a reporter at the Telegraph. “This is where she burst on to the scene in 2004, aged 17, beating defending champion Serena Williams to take the title. You do not have to be a diehard tennis fan to recall the moment she sank to her knees in disbelief.”

“It’s a hell of a way for her Wimbledon story to come to an end,” said BBC commentator Andrew Castle to Telegraph. “She was still capable of winning, so it weakens the tournament not to have her here. “That said, it is fantastic for the game that she’s not – it shows tennis is taking drugs seriously. I think her two year ban should stay.”

The Russian tennis player has managed to keep a positive attitude while she waits for a final ruling on her appeal, so she might not have too much trouble getting through the two-year ban. She even posted about continuing her training on Twitter.

When she is finally cleared for tournament play, do you think Maria Sharapova will be as good as she was before? Do you think she will be able to snag another Wimbledon title? Let me know in the comments below!

[Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Images]

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