Sharapova, who has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation until the investigation is finalized, concluded her letter by saying she would “like to play again and [hopes] to have the chance to do so”.
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Meanwhile, reigning world No. 1 tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have offered Sharapova support as she aims to return to the game and now the Russian star has posted a message for her fans on her Facebook page. Also, if one were to go by her words, what’s more confusing is that even if Sharapova did skip reading the sent email, the medicine in question – Meldonium – was put under notice by the WADA long before ITF sent the alert, and as such she needed to exercise caution regarding the substances comprising her medicinal intake. According to Haggerty she was stunned to receive the letter from the ITF that she had failed the test, but immediately wanted to come forward and take full responsibility for what had happened.
Sharapova’s case comes at a time when Russian athletes are banned from competing internationally after an independent commission chaired by Pound found evidence a year ago of state-sponsored doping in the country.
Sharapova has been the highest-earning female athlete in the world in each of the past 11 years, according to the Forbes list. The following year she starred in a promotional film for the 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar and was seen being chauffeured in it to the Women’s Tennis Association pre-Wimbledon dinner by the Formula One racing driver Mark Webber. “I’ve never had that entrance to a players’ party”.
“In view of the current situation, the Swiss watch brand has suspended negotiations and has decided not to renew the contract”, TAG Heuer, a unit of French luxury goods group LVMH, said.
“We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova”, Nike responded in a statement. “I had several health issues going on at the time”, she said.
With regard to Sharapova’s sponsors, Nike acted swiftly, suspending its contract with the five-time grand slam champion, while Tag Heuer severed ties altogether and Porsche, who signed the tennis superstar as its first global endorser in 2013, has postponed its sponsorship. It found that 66 of them tested positive for the drug, though the actual number using it may be much higher, researchers said. An eventual return to tennis remains a hope for Maria Sharapova.
“Doesn’t look that innocent for Sharapova or whoever else took it, this Meldonium stuff but who knows?” he told social media website Twitter.
Meldonium only became part of the ban list by the World Anti-Doping Agency on January 1, 2016.
Furthermore, just two of the 50 medical teams from National Olympic Committees declared the importation of meldonium into Azerbaijan, leading to concerns in the study over the under-reporting of meldonium use.
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“Looking at it from 10,000 feet and from outside, you say, ‘I am sorry but that doesn’t hold together, ‘” Pound said. Radwanska said she was in the locker room in Indian Wells with a group of WTA players getting ready train for this week’s tournament in southern California when she heard the news on Monday.
