Schiavone not in Rome because of wild-card decision, scheduling issue

Francesca Schiavone, who is planning to retire after the season, will not be playing in front of her local crowd in Rome this week following a series of peculiar developments.

The 36-year-old Italian did not receive a wild card into the tournament, with organizers instead controversially giving entry to Maria Sharapova and Sara Errani.

Schiavone played Madrid and then left for Miami because she was initially ranked too low for the qualifying event. Upon arrival, she was told that she had got in.

The former Grand Slam champion wrote on social media that she could not return to Rome on such a tight schedule.

"I’ve been just told that I got into the qualifiers for Rome,” she wrote. “I should play tomorrow, but I’m here, and if I left now I would not be in the physical condition to play."

Schiavone had not won a match this season when Rome organizers selected their wild cards, but then she went on a tear. The following week, she played and won the tournament in Bogota as a wild card.

She received a wild card into the Internazionali BNL D’Italia last year and lost to Lucie Safarova in the first round.

The Bogota title secured Schiavone a spot at the French Open, and she has since also reached the final of Rabat as a wild card, moving up to No. 77 in the rankings.

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