Russian star Maria Sharapova may play at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpishchev has said. Sharapova is eligible to officially return to professional tennis from April 26.

"Sharapova may play for the Russian team and is able to win gold at the 2020 Olympics. The sole question here is her wish," Tarpishchev said on Wednesday.

Suspended Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova was removed from the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, according to a report on the organisation's website on Monday. Last week, Sharapova, 29, was in 93rd place in the rankings.

Maria is serving a two-year suspension for the violation of anti-doping regulations since January 26. However, the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on October 4 to reduce her suspension term from 24 to 15 months. The former World No.1 is now eligible to officially return to tennis courts starting April 26 next year.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has denied that it tried to ban Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova for four years. After the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which reduced the sanction of the Russian player to 15 months, the ITF on Thursday said that it did not "try to ban Sharapova for four years, as has been suggested".

The ITF said in a statement that: "it was the responsibility of the Independent Tribunal - and subsequently the CAS Panel - to determine what the appropriate sanction should be."

French Open organisers don't rule out handing Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova a wild card to participate in the Grand Slam event next year.

"The list of wild cards is decided 15 days before the tournament; we have time to think about it," the tournament's press service said on Wednesday.

Sharapova has been serving a two-year suspension for the violation of anti-doping regulations since January 26. However, the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Tuesday to reduce Sharapova's suspension term from 24 to 15 months.

An appeal panel appointed under the Code of Sports-related Arbitration of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) has reduced the sanction imposed on Maria Sharapova by an Independent Tribunal on 8 June 2016 from 24 months to 15 months. The results and prize money that Ms. Sharapova earned at the 2016 Australian Open remain disqualified. Her period of ineligibility will now end at midnight on 25 April 2017.

Ms. Sharapova, a 29-year-old player from Russia, provided a urine sample on 26 January 2016 that was found to contain meldonium, which is prohibited under section S4 (Hormone and Metabolic Modulators) of the 2016 WADA Prohibited List. She admitted her consequent violation of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, and noted that the meldonium was the active ingredient of a medication, Mildronate, that she had been taking for ten years, and that she had not realised it had been added to the Prohibited List as from 1 January 2016.

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova will find out in the first week of October if her two-year doping ban will be reduced, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Tuesday.

Sharapova was banned from competitive tennis for two years as of January 26, 2016, after she had admitted taking banned drug Meldonium since 2006 because of various health problems. Meldonium became a banned substance on January 1, 2016.

Russian star Maria Sharapova, suspended for two years for doping, may start competing again as of January 2017, the president of Russia's tennis federation Shamil Tarpishchev said on Monday.

"A decision will be made in September. I'm not certain but I believe that she'll start playing as of January 2017," Tarpishchev said.