It’s for that reason many, including the World Anti-Doping Agency, which put meldonium on its banned substance list in January, believe the substance can be used to help athletic performance.
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“We also know that for more than a decade, Maria Sharapova has been a role model and woman of integrity who has inspired millions of fans around the world to play and watch tennis”.
Murray said he was surprised that the International Tennis Federation and the WTA Tour allowed Sharapova to make the announcement of the positive test herself. Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer announced it would not renew its sponsorship contract, which ended in December.
Sharapova said she did not realise the substance was illegal, but took “full responsibility” for her actions.
To the layman, this may seem like a minor oversight, but in the world of global sports, where elite players have a battery of coaches, doctors, managers and lawyers to ensure that exactly these problems do not occur, this is, a major lapse that indicates recklessness and possibly mala fide intent.
Sharapova stated she had been taking the medicine for the “past 10 years”.
The 28-year-old said she didn’t realize it was included on a list of banned substances as of January 1, three weeks before she lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Murray criticized everyone from Sharapova, to the tennis federation, to his racquet sponsor Head who also sponsors Sharapova.
“I am sorry, if you are running a $30 million a year sole enterprise you better make sure the basis for that commercial success, if nothing else, remains unassailable”, Pound added in the interview with the AP on the sidelines of the Tackling Doping in Sport conference at Twickenham Stadium.
“I had to lose my career and never opted to cheat no matter what”, Capriati wrote in a tweet. “We have a good anti-doping program and the players who are not doing the right things are going on trial, so we will see how it goes”.
“It’s awful what happened with Maria for the world of sport, for the world of tennis, but you have to respect the rules”, the 14-time grand slam victor told CNN.
The Tennis Anti-Doping Program said in a statement that Sharapova “will be provisionally suspended with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case”.
The researchers found that 13 medalists or event winners were taking the drug during the games, and 66 athletes tested positive for it.
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, said: “I think it’s something which we all should know, what we are taking and what we are putting into the body”, and thinks Sharapova made “a huge mistake”. I’ve known her for a long time.
“Whether it’s shock or whether they don’t want to become involved or have an opinion about it, it’s sort of surprising that not a lot of players have shown their support for her”.
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Evert said: “It’s just incredulous to me because she has such a very comprehensive and a very professional team”.
