Wimbledon Courting Controversy
With less than a week to go before Wimbledon 2017 officially gets underway there are already so many controversial happenings surrounding the tournament.
It may be quite fitting however as this will be the first year that the tournament will be broadcast all over Europe thanks to a deal struck between Eurosport and the AELTC. The recent controversies will surely generate a lot of interest in the tournament, which in turn will be good for ratings. It is good to know that even after 131 tournaments, Wimbledon can still cause a stir each year.
The Return Of Maria Sharapova
Hand down the biggest controversy this year is the return of Russian female tennis star, Maria Sharapova.
She will be gracing the AELTC greens for the first time after a 15 month doping ban was imposed on her. She was blocked from entering the French Open earlier this year so many fans and athletes were surprised after it was announced she would be competing at this year’s Wimbledon event.
Big name stars like Andy Murray have openly spoken out against her return, but the AELTC committee have stuck by their decision to feature the tennis ace.
She was first invited through a wild card draw, but Sharapova declined the offer, wanting to make the draw through the standard qualification process.
Injured Champ Kvitova Set For Return
Generating less division but equal levels of excitement and interest is the return of Petra Kvitova to Wimbledon after she was attacked in her home and received stab wounds to her placing hand.
She has been in recovery for 7 months and had to sit through 4 hours of surgery but it seems the tennis ace has made a good recovery.
Previously Kvitova won the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon events and fans are looking forward to seeing her return, her long absence from the sport may negatively affect her first performance however.
Blaze Disrupts AELTC Practice Court
As if adding insult to injury, a fire broke out at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the home of Wimbledon. The fire started just after lunchtime Friday the 26th. Fire Fighters attended to the blaze but no further information was provided.
Twitter lit up with people posting picture and updates of the progress of the event at the historic practice court.
Tennis or sport fans in general cannot miss this year’s Wimbledon tournament. The fates seem to have aligned to bring us a once in a lifetime tournament this year full of excitement and controversy.
More About Jennie Martin
After completing her degree, Jennie Martin began her journalism career by working as an intern on the entertainment pages. However, her passion for sport was quickly noticed, and she began covering local events.
She now puts her considerable expertise and more than a decades worth of experience to good use, keeping readers up to date on Australian and international sports betting news.
From the latest sporting results to the thrills and spills of the online betting industry, Jennie is the australiansportsbetting.net expert in the field.
You May Also Like:
No Indian Wells For Novak Djokovic
It has now been confirmed that despite tennis world No. 2 Novak Djokovic having remained placed on the list of competitors for Indian Wells, he will not be permitted to ….
McEnroe Questions Raducanu Decision
John McEnroe has become just the latest of many to question Brit Emma Raducanu’s decision to change coaches following her fairy-tale US Open victory. Raducanu split with youth coach Andrew ….
Djokovic Lead Shareholder In Biotech Company
It has now emerged that the recently deported Novak Djokovic is the controlling shareholder (80%) in a company aiming to develop a treatment that does not involve vaccination. The Serb ….
French Open Likely Off The Cards For Novak
After a recent change to French health and safety rules, Novak Djokovic risks not being permitted into the country in May to defend his French Open title at Roland Garros. ….
More Confusion As Djokovic Blames Agent
The latest twist in the drama surrounding Novak Djokovic is a combination of blame-shifting and more confusion. The tennis world No. 1 is now blaming his agent for a so-called ….