By AFPMore by this AuthorSTUTTGARTMaria Sharapova made her controversial return from a 15-month doping ban on Wednesday as the Russian superstar took on Italian veteran Roberta Vinci at Stuttgart's WTA tournament. She was given a wildcard to play at the Stuttgart tournament which she has won three times. "For Maria it will certainly have been hard to have been on the outside for so long," said former world number one Kim Clijsters, speaking in Stuttgart. 'GROUND ZERO'World number five Simona Halep, the fourth seed in Stuttgart, also believes that handing Sharapova a wildcard sends completely the wrong signal. On the eve of the Stuttgart tournament, world number eight Radwanska made similar remarks — and was then placed in the draw as Sharapova's potential second-round opponent.

Source: Daily Nation April 26, 2017 18:00 UTC