Maria Sharapova decided not to play in Birmingham this year, even though she signed a two-year deal to appear when the LTA gave her a wildcard for last year’s tournament. She needed the practice back then, when she was just making her comeback from a 15-month ban for using meldonium.
Twelve months later she decided she could do without it. Instead, she chose to play a couple of exhibition games at the Aspall Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club, a corporate jolly run by her management group IMG. On Tuesday she lost the first of them, against Maria Sakkari, 7-5, 6-4.
Written by Andy Bull at the Hurlingham Club
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/26/maria-sharapova-wimbledon-warm-up-hurlingham under the title “Maria Sharapova’s exclusive defeat leaves bitter taste for LTA and fans | Andy Bull”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
