Tennis star Maria Sharapova speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles on Monday, March 7, 2016.
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The International Tennis Federation confirmed Sharapova missed five opportunities in December alone to learn that meldonium had become a banned substance.
Meldonium was banned at the start of the year because it aids oxygen uptake and endurance, and several athletes across worldwide sports have already been caught using it. Sharapova and all players were notified of the changes in the WADA banned substances list in December.
Later, the substance was also found in a blood test taken from Russian figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova and a number of other athletes, including Ukrainian biathlonists Olga Abramova and Artem Tishchenko. But in supporting her argument, Sharapova posted a photo of a “wallet card” which was handed out at tournaments after the ban began, saying: “This document had thousands of words on it, many of them technical, in small print”. Again, no excuses, but its wrong to say I was warned five times, the Russian player posted.
But she has objected to what she calls inaccurate reporting or distortion and exaggeration of the facts regarding her situation.
Maria Sharapova continues to defend her stance that she took Meldonium without knowing the drug had been placed on WADA’s list of banned substances. “I am determined to fight back”, she said. Should I have studied it? Yes. She took full responsibility for not having paid more attention to it, but still maintained that the other communications had been buried in newsletters, websites and handouts.
Sharapova, who knew the drug as mildronate, also addressed comments from the manufacturer that it was only created to be taken in courses of between four and six weeks. “I didn’t take the medicine every day”. Posting on Facebook, she wrote: “On average, I love the mornings”.
“In this moment, I am so proud to call you my fans”. I wish I didn’t have to go through this, but I do – and I will. Sharapova related how she spotted photographers following her, and said she had read a number of social media messages presented to her in a collage by friends. I won’t pretend to be injured so I can hide the truth about my testing.
“I look forward to the ITF hearing at which time they will receive my detailed medical records”, she said.
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“Whether or not she was informed before or not, I don’t know that”, Djokovic said, before adding: “I think the communication maybe from the side of the governing bodies of tennis maybe should be a little bit better in terms of involvement of maybe ATP, as well, because I feel like maybe sometimes ATP is stepping on the side because it’s a matter of ITF and WADA”.
