Passion for game grew during suspension, says Sharapova

LOS ANGELES: Maria Sharapova’s love for tennis has only grown stronger during her 15-month doping ban, the five-times grand slam winner has said as she continues her comeback from the suspension.

She returned at the Stuttgart Open in April after being given a controversial wildcard and went on to play in the Madrid Open and Italian Open before sustaining a thigh injury that ruled her out of the grasscourt season. Sharapova said her struggles over the past two years have made her stronger.

“These last two years have been tougher — so much tougher — than I ever could have anticipated... my passion for the game has never wavered. If anything, it’s only grown stronger,” Sharapova wrote in a column for The Players’ Tribune.

Players and pundits criticised her for the ban and her subsequent wildcard entries and Sharapova admitted that the increased scrutiny affected her.

“I’m aware of what many of my peers have said about me, and how critical of me some of them have been in the press... I don’t think that sort of thing will ever fully be possible to ignore,” Sharapova added.“But at the same time I’ve always tried to keep a generous attitude towards critics in general.”