Eugenie Bouchard called Maria Sharapova is "a cheater" and said she should never be allowed to play professional tennis again after the Russian tennis star returned from a 15-month doping suspension this week.
The Canadian player views Sharapova's suspension as a mere slap on the wrist, and told Turkish broadcaster TRT World that Sharapova being allowed to play is “so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
“She is a cheater, and so to me, I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again,” Bouchard said during the interview.
Sharapova returned to tennis Wednesday in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, and she was victorious, despite being away from the sport for more than a year.
Sharapova looked sharp against Roberta Vinci, winning in two sets: 7-5, 6-3.
The former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion addressed her critics after her win Wednesday.
“I can’t control what people say, and I never have,” Sharapova said. “The only thing I can control is what I do out there, and those are my words. I’m always prepared to walk the walk and I have, and I’ve done that by winning five Grand Slams and being No. 1 in the world.”
Prior to Bouchard’s comments being made available, the CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association Steve Simon spoke about the matter with German broadcaster ZDF over the weekend.
“I don’t think a suspension should wipe out the career’s worth of work,” Simon said, according to Fox News.
Bouchard disagrees, though, saying, “I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: ‘Cheat and we will welcome you back with open arms.’ I don’t think that’s right and definitely she is not someone I can say I look up to anymore.”
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.