Maria Sharapova guaranteed herself a spot in the Wimbledon qualifying tournament with a first-round victory against American Christina McHale at the Italian Open on Monday. Should the 30-year-old three-times Rome champion, ranked 211 in the world, reach the semi-finals, she would almost certainly earn an automatic Wimbledon main draw slot ahead of the May 22 rankings cut-off date. The qualifying tournament is held the week before in the quaint surroundings of Roehampton -- potentially creating a security headache if Sharapova plays. At a recent news conference All England Club officials said this year’s qualifying tournament, previously free for the public, would be ticketed and restricted to 1,000 fans. Sharapova will find out on Tuesday whether she has been handed a wildcard to this month’s French Open.

Source: Hindustan Times May 15, 2017 15:22 UTC