Maria Sharapova, out of action since the Australian Open because of a failed drug test, celebrated her 29th birthday this week with a sweaty gym workout, a healthy humblebrag about hugs and gifts she received ... and a NSFW social media post from comedian pal Chelsea Handler.
It could be that Sharapova, ever one to stay in shape, provisional suspension or not, might be holding out hope that she'll return to competitive tennis courts sooner than later. Might we see her on the 2016 Wimbledon lawns? Perhaps. And even as coworkers from Kristina Mladenovic to Dominika Cibulkova have verbally maligned Sharapova's drug-test news from earlier this year, WTA doubles co-No. 1 Sania Mirza recently opted to salute her forthrightness. Whatever it's worth, there's probably good karma in that—though if and when Sharapova does return to tour play, her first matches against Cibulkova and Mladenovic would probably make for good theater.
As far as Sharapova's actual return to play, time—and the powers-that-be—will tell. And International Tennis Federation (ITF) chief David Haggerty posited this week, it normally takes two to three months for such a ruling to come down. That puts Sharapova's true suspension status in play right around the time that Wimbledon kicks off on June 27. We may not have heard her most resounding shriek yet.
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