Sharapova claimed she had been taking the drug for the past 10 years due to health reasons and was unaware it had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances as of January 1 this year.
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Meldonium was added to the WADA list of banned substances on January 1, 2016 because of “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance”. “I let the sport down that I’ve been playing since the age of 4, that I love so deeply”. All the tennis players were given notification of it and she has a medical team somewhere.
The World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, declined to comment until ITF issues a final decision.
Wojek said: “From the (patient information) leaflet it would suggest they did recommend it’s only for a six-week period to help ease the lack of blood flow – depending on what the medical condition was and the dosage being used”.
Before social media demanded instant responses, sponsors often waited weeks or months before severing ties with an athlete – giving them the benefit of the doubt. Because she had taken it for so many years, and it was OK year after year, it just got off the radar.
Former world number one and two-time grand slam finalist Caroline Wozniacki stressed the importance of checking substances after Sharapova insisted she had missed an e-mail declaring meldonium was now on the banned list.
“Given the attention that use of performance-enhancing drugs in just about all sports has garnered over the last several years, sponsors are going to cut as quickly as they can”, said Brian Socolow, head of the sports practice group at Loeb & Loeb law firm, which has represented both athletes and companies in endorsement deals. That could coincide with her arrival among the ranks of the world’s top players. Forbes estimated her earnings at $29.5 million for 2015.
Her admission Monday that she had failed a drug test is being taken as a good career move, for the most part, but the Russian immediately paid a price.
“We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova”, Nike responded in a statement.
Though Sharapova did a “textbook” job of owning up to her mistake, questions linger, including whether she listed the drug among her medications when she was tested in Australia, said Paul Swangard, who lectures at the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. “I think Maria will find a way to survive what is happening to her”.
“At the end of the day you are responsible for what you put into your body”.
The holder of five Grand Slams and 35 WTA titles, the Russian who arrived penniless with her family in the United States, is as much a businesswoman as a sportswoman.
The standard sanction for a first offence is four years under the Wada code, though that could be reduced to two years if Sharapova can prove she was not at fault.
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But Sharapova has struggled with injuries throughout her career, repeatedly forcing her to take extended breaks from competition.
