Maria Sharapova is back—but only time will tell if she’s better than ever.
On Wednesday, the tennis star will play her first competitive match since losing to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the January 2016 Australian Open.
In June of last year, Sharapova received a two-year ban for her doping violation after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open. The ban was later shortened to 15 months.
While the sports star admitted to taking meldonium during the season’s opening grand slam, she said she was unaware that it had been banned at the time. Meldonium was added to World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances at the beginning of 2016.
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During her time away from the court, Sharapova attended a two-week course at Harvard Business School. In addition to being a five-time Grand Slam champion and one of the highest-earning female athletes (she brought in about $21.9 million in earnings last year), Sharapova is the founder of candy brand Sugarpova.
The formerly top-ranked player is currently unranked due to her hiatus, with newly-pregnant Serena Williams the reigning No.1.
