Maria Sharapova was in New York City this month on a sports venture that had nothing to do with tennis or the U.S. Open.
As Sharapova prepares for her post-playing career, the Russian tennis star completed a three-day informal internship with the NBA in Manhattan, working closely with commissioner Adam Silver.
Sharapova is barred from the U.S. Open after testing positive for a drug — meldonium — that’s deemed a performance-enhancer and recently was placed on the WTA’s banned list. The two-year suspension currently is under appeal.
The 2006 Open champion attended several high-level meetings and met with executives for the NBA, WNBA and D-League. She was recommended for the internship by a friend, Sophie Goldschmidt, who formerly ran the league’s European office.
“She took part in many of our department meetings to learn about the NBA operations,” Mike Bass, a spokesman for Silver, told The Post. “She’s very smart, incredibly inquisitive about our process and initiatives.”
According to an NBA source, meldonium will be placed on the NBA’s banned list in time for the coming season.
Sharapova has kept busy since her ban, which began in June, diving into academia. She took a two-week class at the Harvard Business School in July and had an internship this summer at an ad agency and NIKE.
She already is running one business, candy company Sugarpova. Her agent, Max Eisenbud, said she’s focused on a business career after she retires.
She will not be in New York during the Open.