INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — A year after the news of her positive doping test shook the BNP Paribas Open, Maria Sharapova again dominated conversation here in absentia.
Last March, on the eve of this tournament, Sharapova announced that she had tested positive for the recently banned substance meldonium, an over-the-counter cardiac supplement for which hundreds of Russian athletes also tested positive.
After her two-year suspension by the International Tennis Federation was reduced to 15 months, Sharapova is set to return to tour next month.
She has no ranking but has secured three wild-card entries for clay court events in Stuttgart, Germany; Madrid; and Rome.