Sharapova gets wild card for Madrid Open

At the moment, she is certain to need a wild card to play in the French Open. But if she performs well in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome, there is a chance she could avoid forcing the All England Club into making the same decision about Wimbledon.

A run to the final of one of these events would probably be enough to claim direct entry, or a couple of semi-final finishes. The cut-off for entry via rankings points falls on May 22, six weeks before the start of Wimbledon, so Sharapova will need to get her skates on to qualify directly. If not, the All England Club will be placed in an awkward dilemma. Yes, she remains a significant draw in a women’s field not overflowing with celebrities. Yet there would be an outcry if the club offered preferential treatment to a woman who failed to observe the World Anti-Doping Agency’s drugs code.