Thursday 11 May 2017 10:23, UK
The Lawn Tennis Association have said they have not yet decided which players will be granted a wildcard to compete at next month's Aegon Classic in Birmingham, although reports suggest Maria Sharapova will be one of them.
Under WTA rules, former world No 1s and ex-Grand Slam champions are entitled to receive unlimited wildcards into events run by the body which controls the women's world tour.
And with Sharapova's current ranking of 258 far too low to merit direct entry into the grass court event at Edgbaston, the 30-year-old Russian would need one of the four available wild cards in order to play.
An LTA spokesman told The Times: "We are in the process of deciding which players will receive wild cards for our summer season grass-court tournaments."
Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, recently returned to the WTA Tour following a 15-month doping ban and reached the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Grand Prix in her comeback tournament.
Her most recent appearance in Birmingham was seven years ago, having won the title in 2005.
The Aegon Classic runs from June 17-25, at the Edgbaston Priory Club, ahead of the Wimbledon, starting on July 3.
However, the WTA do not hold jurisdiction over Grand Slam events such as Wimbledon, which are run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Sharapova's hopes of featuring at SW19 may be decided on June 20 when a meeting of tournament organisers is planned.
If the All England Club decide not to invite her, she would have to survive the pre-qualifying event at Roehampton in order to play in the season's third Slam.
