Russian team boss slams Sharapova wild card critics

Russian tennis supremo Shamil Tarpishchev blasted players who oppose Maria Sharapova's hopes of winning a French Open wild card, describing the former world number one as "irreproachable, and a true professional".

Sharapova will return to the sport in Stuttgart on April 26, the day her 15-month doping suspension ends.

However, the five-time Grand Slam title winner will need French Open organisers to hand her a wild card at Roland Garros, where she is a two-time winner, as her world ranking was wiped off during her ban imposed for testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.

France's world number eight Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said he didn't think Sharapova should get a Paris invitation.

"I would not do it," he said. "It's like if you give a sweet to a kid who did a bad thing, the kid's going to do it again. It sends the wrong message."

But Tarpishchev told Tsonga to keep his opinions to himself.

"It wasn't a smart move from him (Tsonga) to comment on Maria's situation," www.rbc.ru quoted Tarpischev as saying.

He added: "Sharapova has no relation with doping whatsoever. Furthermore, it was proved meldonium is not doping, it's a prohibited drug.

"Sharapova is an irreproachable athlete, a true professional. We all want her to gain her top form as soon as possible, to return to the sports elite."

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)