That might just be what lies ahead for the rest of 2016 for glamour girl and highly bankable athlete Maria Sharapova-or, quite possibly, in the next four years. “She has approached this very maturely and I really admire that”, he added.
Advertisement
During a press conference last Monday, Sharapova only mentioned failing to click on a link on an email linking to the documents on December 22.
Sharapova has been handed a provisional suspension from tennis, which starts on March 12, by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The Russian, who won her first Grand Slam at 17, has had a career marked by injury but no controversy prior to this, with tennis legend Chris Evert saying “Maria is the last person you would expect to be involved (in this).”, while World No. 1 and longtime Sharapova rival Serena Williams has also spoken out in support of the star. The Austria-based company’s CEO Johan Eliasch even questioned WADA’s decision to add meldonium to its banned substances list and said the anti-doping body should have imposed a “dosage limitation” instead.
The story quoted the manufacturer of Sharapova’s medicine say that treatment course can be repeated twice or thrice a year, but only at the discretion of a physician, which is exactly what she did.
“In the absence of any evidence of any intent by Maria of enhancing her performance or trying to gain an unfair advantage through the use of mildronate, we further conclude this falls into the category of “honest” mistakes”.
“On December 18, I received an email with the subject line “Player News” on it,” Sharapova wrote. “It contained a newsletter on a website that contained tons of information about travel, upcoming tournaments, rankings, statistics, bulletin board notices, happy birthday wishes, and yes, anti-doping information.” .
“It’s just taking responsibility, which she admitted she was ready to do”.
“I woke up yesterday morning with an inbox, in full capacity of love and compassion”, the letter begins and goes on say how much the tennis athlete loves her fans.
It was a curious oversight, given that in the days after her confession it emerged she or her camp had been informed of its reclassification five times.
The Russian had been taking meldonium for 10 years, but insisted it was in low doses and as recommended.
“I didn’t take the medicine every day”.
Sharapova has been under an exclusive contract with HEAD for racquets, strings and grips since 2011, and the company said it looks forward to “many more years of working with Maria”. “We are saddened by the recent news and have chosen to postpone planned activities with her”, Porsche said.
“I find it unusual that there’s a prescription drug used for heart conditions and so many athletes competing at the top level of their sport would have that condition”. At the same time, the tennis star called for more frequent testing, especially for those like Maria Sharapova, who already have a history of abusing such substances.
Advertisement
Maria Sharapova isn’t keeping quiet in the face of the criticism she has received. “I feel for her with all that’s happening and I just hope she gets out of this stronger”. “In this moment, I am so proud to call you my fans”.
