At an anti-doping hearing in London, Sharapova was informed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that she would be banned for two years as meldonium is a metabolic modulator which increases stamina and endurance. The ITF Has made its ruling and, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, the decision may be appealed to the Court Arbitration for Sport.
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“An Independent Tribunal appointed under Article 8.1 of the 2016 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has found that Maria Sharapova committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme and as a outcome has disqualified the affected results and imposed a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 26 January 2016”, the statement said. The company that hadn’t ended its deal with her even during her announcement and provisional suspension once again said that there wasn’t any scientific study that proved Meldonium to a performance enhancing drug.
“I can not accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension”, Sharapova said Wednesday.
More significantly, if her suspension withstands an appeal and runs through January 25, 2018, the 29-year-old Russian will wind up missing this year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a total of eight Grand Slam tournaments during what might have been prime competitive years.
“I have missed playing tennis and I have missed my awesome fans, who are the best and most loyal fans in the world”.
She is one of 10 women in tennis history with a career Grand Slam – at least one title from each of the sport’s four most important tournaments.
Sharapova reached the French Open final as well as the Wimbledon semi-final previous year and she began 2016 ranked number four in the world. But she worked her way back, and in 2012, won the French Open, then added a second title in Paris two years later.
Now comes a dark chapter to the story of someone who was 9 years old when her father moved her from Russian Federation to Florida to pursue a tennis career.
The 29-year-old Sharapova called a news conference on March 7 at a Los Angeles hotel and announced she had failed a doping test. The ban will also impact on her earning potential.
The ITF had asked for Sharapova to be suspended for four years, but the rules state that she could not be suspended for longer than two years if determined her use of the drug was not intentional. The panel’s ruling, in a nutshell: She should have been aware – and would have been, had she followed proper protocols. “The WTA will continue to follow this closely and we hope it will be resolved as soon as possible”.
Nike, TAG Heuer and Porsche are among the companies to previously suspend their relationships with Sharapova. I was given this medicine by my doctor for several health issues I was having in 2006. She left his care in 2013.
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The ITF’s decision also revealed that an out-of-competition test Sharapova took on February 2 in Moscow had meldonium in the sample. “Taken together with the evidence that over a period of three years she did not disclose her use of mildronate to her coach, trainer, physio, nutritionist or any medical adviser she consulted through the WTA, the facts are only consistent with a deliberate decision to keep secret from the anti-doping authorities the fact that she was using mildronate in competition”.
