Maria Sharapova won the first match after disqualification

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova won her first match after being banned for using meldonium.

In the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, she beat Italian tennis player Roberta Vinci 7:5, 6:3.

• Maria Sharapova was disqualified after she publicly admitted in March 2016 that she was taking meldonium, a drug that has been banned since January 1, 2016. According to Sharapova, she did not know about this, although a notification was sent to her.
• Initially, the period of disqualification was two years, but later it was reduced to one year and three months.
• The last time Sharapova appeared on the court in an official match was in January 2016, during the Australian Open.