Maria Sharapova handed US Open wild card

ByEurosport

Updated 15/08/2017 at 17:17 GMT

Maria Sharapova will play her first Grand Slam event since her doping ban after it was confirmed she was handed a wild card for this month's US Open.

Maria Sharapova

Image credit: Getty Images

Sharapova suffered an injury to her left arm during her first-round match at the Stanford Classic last week, and withdrew from Cincinnati this week ahead of the year's final major.

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The former world number one and 2006 US Open champion served a 15-month doping ban after testing positive for the heart drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. It is unclear how this will affect her preparations for Flushing Meadows.

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Are the US Open right to hand Maria Sharapova a wildcard?

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The USTA has said Sharapova will speak on a voluntary basis to young American players about the importance of the sport's anti-doping programme.

The five-times Grand Slam winner has had mixed results since rejoining the WTA Tour.

The 30-year-old Russian reached the semi-finals as a wild card in Stuttgart, lost in the second round in Madrid and retired from her second-round match at the Italian Open in mid-May after injuring her left thigh.

After pulling out of Stanford, Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

The US Open runs from August 28-September 10.