Eliasch said his brand, which started sponsoring Sharapova in 2011, “is proud to stand behind Maria, now and into the future and we intend to extend her contract”.
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The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced that Sharapova is to be provisionally suspended “with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case”.
“Running a $30 million business depends on you staying eligible to play tennis”.
Sharapova has used Head equipment since 2011 and the company’s support is a significant boost after her announcement on Monday placed her relationship with other sponsors into doubt. We look forward to working with her and to announcing new sponsorships in the weeks and months ahead.
It was on the eve of International Women’s Day that Maria Sharapova came out with her startling revelation about how she’d failed a drug test during the Australian Open. More surprising is the fact that, according to her lawyer John Haggerty, no one on her team did, either. “I let my sport down that I’ve been playing since the age of four that I love so deeply”, she said.
Sharapova, who’s been sidelined with a forearm injury, says she hopes this isn’t how her tennis career wraps up.
Meldonium, a blood-flow drug that historically was used to improve Soviet soldiers’ endurance, was banned as of January 1. This message isn’t anything else but to say thank you.
“If the reports are true and this was happening when she was a teenager, then you begin to wonder why a drug that is basically to help heart problems was administered”, he said.
As the tennis world continues to react to the bombshell development, Rafael Nadal – who has been forced to deny he has ever committed doping infractions – didn’t absolve Sharapova and said tennis is suffering.
In comments reported by the BBC, the 14-time grand slam champion said: “I am a completely clean guy”.
The tennis star also stated that she was “determined to play tennis again and I hope I will have the chance to do so”.
Sharapova has been taking a medicine called meldonium for the past ten years – after being prescribed it by for magnesium deficiency, irregular heart test results, and a family history of diabetes.
“If you look at Tiger Woods, or other sportspeople who’ve gone through a scandal, they can recover and I think in her case she will recover, but maybe not to the same extent”.
The Russian has seen major sponsors Nike, Tag Heuer and Porsche all quickly distance themselves from her.
Pound disclosed that global tennis officials had flagged up the use of meldonium to the WADA committee that monitors the use of various drugs and recommends whether to put them on the banned list.
The predominant response has been shock at how one of tennis’ most professional and meticulous players could fail to take notice of warnings that a drug she had been taking for 10 years had been added to the banned list.
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And as Chase points out, part of being a professional athlete in 2016 is keeping an eye on everything – everything – that goes into your body, and pours scorn on the idea that she failed to read a clearly-written 569-word document from WADA explaining the new drugs on the banned list.
