Genie Bouchard thinks 'cheater' Maria Sharapova should be banned for life
Genie Bouchard, the 2014 Wimbledon finalist who's fallen on lean times this season, was asked about the controversial return of her tennis idol Maria Sharapova and responded with the most definitive repudiation of the suspended superstar yet, saying Sharapova should have never been allowed to play the sport again following her positive test for meldonium, a drug that had been legal weeks before the test.
https://twitter.com/genie_news/status/857280760151248898
"[Sharapova is] a cheater and I don't think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again. It's so unfair to the other players who do it the right way and are true. I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kinds - cheat and we'll welcome youu back with open arms. I don't think that's right. [Sharapova is] not someone I can say I look up to anymore. [The drug test] definitely ruined it for me."
Other players have been vocal about Sharapova receiving wild cards into tournaments but none have gone nearly as far as Bouchard, who not only thinks the 15-month suspension was too short but thinks there never should have been a suspension at all. The 23-year-old advocates for a position that doesn't exist in any major sport — lifetime ban for a first positive drug test — and was never a remote possibility. At most, Sharapova could have received a four-year ban. She was suspended for two and then had that knocked down on arbitration.
Bouchard has enough problems of her own besides worrying about the message the WTA might or might not be sending to kids. She's 0-6 in WTA matches since January and opted to play a second-tier ITF event this month to attempt to regain some groove. Bouchard, now ranked No. 59, lost to Vicky Duval, who was playing her first tournament in 10 months after taking an extended break that followed a brief return following her 2014 cancer diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Sharapova won easily in her return, defeating famed U.S. Open Serena slayer Vinci. She'll face Ekaterina Makarova on Thursday.
