Maria Sharapova "spared herself the ignominy of being refused a wild card for Wimbledon's main draw after announcing she would not be seeking one," according to Rumsby & Briggs of the London TELEGRAPH. Days after "being blocked from entering the French Open" following her comeback from her 15-month doping ban, the "shamed" Russian took the decision over her participation "out of the hands" of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The AELTC's tennis sub-committee, chaired by Tim Henman, had been "expected to join its French counterpart by ignoring" the '04 champion "when it came to awarding wild cards for July's tournament." That was despite the Lawn Tennis Association "controversially" inviting Sharapova to play at next month's warm-up event in Birmingham, the Aegon Classic, a decision it officially announced on Thursday. The 30-year-old on Friday claimed on her personal website that she received that wild card offer "a few months ago," suggesting the LTA had "long since made up its mind to lure the world's highest-paid female athlete" to the U.K. (TELEGRAPH, 5/19). In Sydney, Ben Rothenberg reported Sharapova was ranked 211th last week. Her first-round win at the Italian Open on May 15 was "enough to bump her ranking into the top 200" this week and "secure direct entry into the Wimbledon qualifying draw." Sharapova said in a statement, "Because of my improved ranking after the first three tournaments of my return, I will also be playing the Qualifying of Wimbledon in Roehampton, and will not be requesting a wildcard into the main draw." She is believed to be the "first former Wimbledon women's singles champion to subsequently compete in its qualifying draw" (THE AGE, 5/20). In London, Stuart Fraser reported there had been "concerns that the Roehampton site, adjacent to the LTA's National Tennis Centre, would not have been able to cope with the logistics surrounding the presence of such a high-profile player." AELTC officials "eliminated any potential issues, however, by announcing last month that the event was to be ticketed for the first time," with the capacity limited to 1,000 spectators paying £5 ($6.50) each. They insist that this move was "always on the cards due to security concerns" and that it was "coincidental that its introduction came in the year of Sharapova's participation" (LONDON TIMES, 5/20).
