Sharapova’s tennis return too easy: Watson

British tennis player Heather Watson believes Maria Sharapova’s comeback from a doping ban is being made too easy.

The Russian will complete her 15-month suspension on April 25 and then play her first match the following day at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart after being given a wild card.

The tournament begins two days before her ban runs out but Sharapova, who is sponsored by Porsche, has been guaranteed a Wednesday start to comply with WTA rules.

She has also been given wild cards into events in Madrid and Rome, two of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour, which could see her ranked back in the top 100 in time for Wimbledon.

The issue has been widely debated and attracted differing views, with Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki two of those to speak out against Sharapova’s perceived red-carpet treatment.

Now Watson has joined them, telling several national newspapers at the Miami Open: “From the tournament standpoint, she will bring in the crowds and make money.

“But, from a moral standpoint, you should have to work your way back up if you’ve been on a ban. It just seems a bit easy.”

Sharapova admitted taking the cardiac drug meldonium after it had been added to the banned list in January 2016 but both the International Tennis Federation and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who reduced her ban from two years, decided she had not intended to cheat.

Watson’s stay in Miami proved to be a brief one, with the British No.2 losing to Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig in the first round.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!