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HEAD Tennis Facing Backlash for Congratulating Maria Sharapova on Reduced Suspension



Has Maria Sharapova’s racquet sponsor, HEAD Tennis, taken things too far in support of their client? That’s what many people are saying on social media. When Sharapova had her two-year-ban reduced to 15 months, the company released the above tweet to congratulate their client on the news saying “HEAD wish to congratulate Maria Sharapova on the CAS ruling, and we welcome her return to competitive tennis in April 2017. We are proud to have stood by Maria for the right reasons throughout these difficult times.”

To be fair, HEAD was the only company that has had Sharapova’s back since the news broke that she had tested positive for Meldonium. Many other sponsors (Notably Nike, Tag Heuer and Porsche) distanced themselves from the player but HEAD took a strong stance in favor of the Russian in March as controversy swirled around her. “Head is proud to stand behind Maria, now and into the future and we intend to extend her contract,” it said in a statement. “We look forward to working with her and to announcing new sponsorships in the weeks and months ahead. Maria may have made a mistake but she has earned the benefit of the doubt and we are extending it to her.”

Much Twitter outrage has followed HEAD’s congratulatory tweet, as people interpret the post as condoning drug usage. But the company stands by its belief that Sharapova’s sentence is unfair. “It is wholly unfair that Maria, an upstanding individual of the highest moral and ethical conduct, was banned from playing competitive tennis while not actively engaging in any behaviors that could be considered cheating.”

Sharapova will return to the tour in April of 2017.

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