Five-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova of Russia will be making her comeback to the professional tennis competitions at the 40th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, in April following her doping ban.

Sharapova is serving a 15-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance meldonium last January and is permitted to officially compete again on April 26.

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"I am very happy to play my first match back on the tour with one of my favorite tournaments," the 29-year-old Sharapova said in the official site of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament.

"I cannot wait to see all my great fans and return to doing what I love," the Russian tennis superstar added.

According to a published report of the ESPN, the Stuttgart-based tennis event is an obvious comeback tournament for the two-time French Open champion given Porsche is one of Sharapova's main sponsors. It had been thought that the former world no.1 would not be able to play because the competition starts two days before her suspension runs out.

Sharapova will not be allowed to attend the tourney until the Wednesday, the day of her first match. She will return to tennis without a ranking and needs a wild card to enter the event.

The oldest indoor women's event of Europe will commence on April 24 and will conclude on April 30. It will be staged at the Porche Arena and the tournament's winner will receive a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition to a handsome prize sum.

Sharapova has claimed 35 career singles titles under her name and reportedly has career earnings of over $36 million. She is a three-time champion of the Porsche Grand Prix, winning the event's title in the years 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Sharapova last played a professional tournament almost 12 months at the Australian Open, where she failed the doping test. She was initially suspended for two years by the International Tennis Federation but that it was shaved off to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in October after filing an appeal in June.

TagsMaria Sharapova, ITF, porshe grand tennis prix, grand slam, meldonium