Tennis is the real loser in the Sharapova furore

…and so the recriminations begin. Maria Sharapova says the ITF tried to get her banned for four years. The ITF refutes that claim, and argues that it was simply playing by the rules. The WTA, unwillingly dragged into this whole sorry mess, says it needs to take a look at everything and learn the lessons of the case. The rest of us… well, we just shake our heads in wonder.

There are only two certainties to come out of yesterday’s ruling by CAS that Sharapova should have her sentence reduced to 15 months instead of two years:

The first is that a new chapter in this story is only just beginning.

The second is that none of the parties – not Sharapova, not the ITF, not even the WTA – comes out of this affair untarnished.

Sharapova is now on the war path. Feeling unjustly treated by the ITF and somewhat vindicated by CAS, she has both the profile and personality to launch a series of attacks on those the she feels have wronged her. Is she right to do so? No.

There is no doubt that Maria Sharapova took a banned substance after it was placed on WADA’s prohibited list. That she did so in ignorance – as she has always claimed – has been somewhat confirmed by CAS. Yet that is a very wobbly pedestal from which to start launching attacks.

But Maria has never been one to hold back – her very public announcement of the ban (a brave move and one that exposed the ITF’s compliance with silent doping suspensions), confirms that. And right now she is claiming that the ITF has tried to make a scapegoat of her.

The ITF denies this charge.

Instead, the argue that they were simply playing by the rules. The penalty for testing positive for a banned substance is a four year suspension. During the tribunal in March, they argue, they simply wanted to see whether her error was innocent enough to constitute a reduction in her sentence.

Sharapova is also frustrated at the procedures for notifying players about newly prohibited substances. For this, she blames both the ITF and WTA (who have said that they will review their policies on player education).

What emerges is a troubling situation in which an athlete banned for doping is publicly (and successfully) taking the moral high ground against the organisations that enforced the rules against her.

That is not a good look for the sport.

And all of this before we even contemplate her return.

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One thing is certain: if and when Maria makes her comeback she’s going to be reliant on Wildcards (it’s hard to see her schlecking around the WTA International circuit in a bid to pick up points).

Will tournaments be forthcoming with them? Of course they will.

Her first competitive match back – wherever it is in the world – is already guaranteed to be one of the most high-profile tennis events of 2017. She will then be watched and scrutinised in each and every subsequent tournament.

Should these tournaments grant her those Wildcards? That is an entirely different question. Is a formerly banned athlete a more worthy recipient of a Wildcard than, say, a promising junior trying to forge the first steps in the professional game? Of course not.

But Maria is – and always has been – marketing gold. And at the end of the day money will win out.

Tennis, however, has already lost (respect, appeal, money) because of this mess.

Whatever is said and whatever happens over the coming months, the sport has come out of this affair in a sorry state. One can only hope that lessons are learnt by all parties, and for the sake of the game Maria, the ITF and (to a lesser extent) the WTA can figure out a way to get along with each other once again.

The views represented in this article are not necessarily those of tennismash.com