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Kremlin Cup tournament to bolster Sharapova’s global ratings — Russian tennis chief

At the 2017 China Open, which closed on Sunday in Beijing, Sharapova failed to clear the third round stage and advance further to the quarterfinals

Maria Sharapova EPA-EFE/ROMAN PILIPEY

Maria Sharapova

© EPA-EFE/ROMAN PILIPEY

MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS, Andrey Kartashov/. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova will gain from taking part in the 2017 VTB Kremlin Cup tournament this month in terms of her world rankings improvement, Shamil Tarpishchev, president of the Russian Tennis Federations (RTF), told TASS on Friday.

According to the Monday issue of the weekly ratings list from the Women Tennis Association (WTA), Sharapova is currently ranked 86th, up 18 positions from last week.

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Sharapova’s Kremlin Cup participation to be clear after Tianjin Open

"Sharapova has all chances of wrapping up this year in the middle of the top-100," Tarpishchev said in an interview with TASS. "This is why she needs to be playing in all of this year’s remaining tournaments and the Kremlin Cup will benefit her in this regard."

The annual VTB Kremlin Cup tennis tournament is scheduled to be held on October 14-22 at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium and puts $1.6 million in prize money up for grabs. Sharapova played at the Kremlin Cup tournaments in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and her best result was the quarterfinal stage.

"However, it would be clear whether she would hit the courts in Moscow or not only after her performance in China," the RTF president added.

Sharapova is currently playing at the WTA Tianjin Open tennis tournament in China, which is offering $400,000 in prize money. The organizers of the tennis competition in China, held between October 9 and 15, earlier granted Sharapova a wildcard to enter the tournament.

Sharapova is Russia’s most decorated tennis player having won a total of five Grand Slam tournaments, namely the Australian Open in 2008, the French Open in 2012 and 2014, Wimbledon in 2004 and the US Open in 2006.

She also clinched the silver in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and was the 2008 Federations Cup champion.

After a 15-month long suspension for violating anti-doping regulations, Sharapova made her comeback to tennis in April at Stuttgart, where she stormed into the semifinals round of the tournament.

At the 2017 China Open, which closed on Sunday in Beijing, Sharapova failed last week to clear the third round stage and advance further to the quarterfinals.

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