Will Maria Sharapova Return to The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships?
After a long wait, Maria Sharapova is confirmed to return and play in Dubai in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next month after she accepted a wild card to join the tennis fields with along the top tennis players for one of the most aimed at titles on the WTA Tour. The tennis champion has officially added Dubai to her calendar on her official website.
The Russian Champion faced a 15-month ban for testing positive in a surprise drug test. This will be a tough competition for Sharapova since in the matches she has recently played she has faced several defeats, but is working on building her way to the to of the charts again. She lost in the semi finals in Shenzhen after being put up against some very harsh competitions. Sharapova will be facing very strong competition in Dubai and all the critics are keeping a sharp eye at her performance, but she aims to add her first Dubai trophy in her trophy cabinet.
Superstar @MariaSharapova is set to make a long-awaited return to the #DDFTennis Championships after accepting a wild card to join a field of top contenders on the @WTA Tour ? Get your tickets here ➡️https://t.co/ru1OHmfZGa #AdvantageDubai pic.twitter.com/gyYzBBBXaW
— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) January 31, 2018
“Maria Sharapova has enjoyed much success and won many titles, but she will face very strong opponents here who are equally keen to claim the title,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of Dubai Duty Free said to The National, adding, “It will be interesting to see if she can fight off her eager challengers who will be determined to make headlines by beating one of the legends of the game.”
The last time Sharapova played in Dubai was in 2006, when she defeated Martina Hingis and Defending Champion Lindsay Davenport. This year as well, she is up against tough competition, a number of top-draw players. The line up includes 2017 US Open runner up Madison Keys and Australian Ashleigh Barty.
Sharapova won 36 career titles till now, including the Australian Open, the US Open, and Wimbledon, all once, and Roland Garros twice. She also won the WTA Finals in 2004 and the Fed Cup in 2008, before winning a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She also won five other Grand Slam finals and appeared in the finals of 17 other events.
