Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova will officially miss the Olympics after her appeal against doping was put on hold.
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CAS have said that all parties have agreed to push back the appeal, with a verdict expected on September 19.
A statement from CAS read: “Due to the parties requiring additional time to complete and respond to their respective evidentiary submissions, and several scheduling conflicts, the parties have agreed not to expedite the appeal”. The new verdict is expected by September 19.
Sharapova lodged an appeal after being issued with a lengthy doping ban last month.
A ruling was originally scheduled to be made next Monday prior to the Rio 2016 Olympics, but CAS has confirmed that both Sharapova and the International Tennis Federation want more time to prepare their cases.
While admitting she had failed the test, Sharapova has maintained since that she took the drug before it was banned and for health reasons only, on the advice of her doctor over a 10-year period.
Meldonium was added to the world anti-doping WADA list on January 1.
The ITF announced in June that an independent tribunal had handed a two-year suspension to the Russian, backdated to January 26, 2016 – the date of her positive test in Melbourne.
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Her ferocity on the court, business acumen and glamorous looks have all combined to make her a marketing juggernaut and the overseer of such successful ventures as her Sugarpova line of candy.
