As soon as Maria Sharapova lost at Stuttgart, the French Tennis Federation (FTF) began wiggling in its chair. Coming off of a 15 month doping suspension, Sharapova -- the two-time french open winner -- has no golden ring that she can grab to automatically let her into the tournament that she previously dominated.
Had she been victorious this past week, the FTF could have figured out some not-so-discreet way to welcome her with open arms.
As it stands, her invitation to the French Open has the potential to showcase how the lure of financial gain (Sharapova is a big crowd draw) may supersede the desire of the FTF to take the moral high ground and close the gates to those who dope. To add further drama, the FTF is going to use Facebook Live to orchestrate the end of this story.
And the rest of the field?
Though the world is gloriously happy for Serena Williams, from a tennis perspective, it is drama taken to the square root level. The number one tennis player will be sitting out this year's event. Yes, it is understandable, but that doesn't make it any easier for the FTF to financially swallow.
Following that, Ilie Nastase decided to use his public platform to insult and dishonor Williams. His reckless horn-tooting offended just about everyone.
Add in some Federer and Nadal drama!
Roger Federer had been on the fence about whether or not he would play in the French Open. Clay is not his surface. He made it clear at the beginning of the season that he was going to be judicious about his tournament choices. He could easily still pass up playing at Roland Garros to prepare for the remainder of the slams. What a giant blow it would be for the tennis world and for the FTF to see Federer miss the event.
Nadal -- whose clay play is legendary -- will be at the French Open. His win at Monte Carlo included a controversial call during his match with David Goffin. It turned out favorable for Nadal, but kept Goffin and the fans on shaky ground.
Yes, the 2017 French Open is already wild, and it hasn't even started yet!