Maria Sharapova Squeezing In Beach Tennis ... Before Doping Suspension

She's about to be suspended from the court ... but Maria Sharapova still has the beach -- and today, she grabbed her racket to hit some balls on the sand.

Despite the fact Nike suspended her deal in the wake of her failed drug test, Maria was sporting Swoosh pants and shoes on an L.A. beach Wednesday afternoon ... with a smile on her face.

Maria admitted she tested positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open back in January -- and the International Tennis Federation has announced she'll be provisionally suspended starting March 12th.

In the meantime, might as well get a tan right?