Maria Sharapova's comeback to tennis from a 15-month doping ban at the Porsche Grand Prix saw the international media impressed with her performance Thursday but also questioning the wildcard treatment she received.
‘Welcome back Masha,’ titled Sport Express in her native Russia, naming her performance in victory over Roberta Vinci ‘masterful.’ ‘Everyone was reminded that women's tennis with and without Sharapova are two completely different things,’ the paper said.
International media agreed with that assessment, even more because the only other true star in the women's game, Serena Williams, is out for the rest of the year on maternity leave; and Victoria Azarenka and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova are not playing either.
‘The regular WTA events are in desperate need of her star quality. The absence of grand-slam champions Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova only enhances her appeal,’ Britain's Daily Telegraph said.
The Guardian agreed: ‘The news that the pregnant world number one will miss at least the next three grand slam tournaments leaves a vacuum for Sharapova to fill in a sport lacking glamour.
‘If Sharapova overcomes lingering rust and lets her play do the talking, she will be hard to resist ... The piercing grunt has not gone away; nor have those ferocious competitive instincts or her natural talent.’ Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung said that ‘the Sharapova after the doping ban very much resembles the Sharapova before the doping ban: she plays with a lot of risks, looks for dominance, and has a lot of pace. And she also still has her rituals.’ However, The Guardian was not the only paper which also raised the ongoing debate whether she really deserved wildcards or should rather have worked her way into the rankings again through small tournaments - as suggested by several players including Vinci - plus a possible lack of remorse on her side.
‘She has done her time, but where is the contrition?’ The Guardian asked, adding that ‘the path to true redemption feels far more treacherous’ than the path to lifting trophies again.
While acknowledging her star status on court, Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio said in an online editorial that giving her the wildcard was ‘a disastrous signal in the fight against doping.’ The New York Times meanwhile summed it all up in its headline.
‘Unbowed, Maria Sharapova retakes the tennis stage,’ the US paper said.
