June 8 update: ITF suspended Mario Sharapova for two years, dating back to Jan. 26, 2016, after finding she violated the anti-doping program at the Australia Open. She will be eligible to return to competition at midnight on Jan. 25, 2018. Her results from the Australian Open were thrown out, as well.
Maria Sharapova suspended after failing drug test at the Australian Open
The substance which Sharapova tested for was put on the banned substances list just this year.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Original: Former No. 1 ranked tennis star Maria Sharapova failed a drug test during the Australian Open and will be provisionally suspended effective March 12, the International Tennis Federation announced Monday. According to rules laid out in the ITF’s 2016 anti-doping program, Sharapova could be suspended up to four years for intentional violation of the rules or two years for an unintentional violation.
She tested positive through the World Anti-Doping Agency for the Latvian-produced drug Meldonium, which was put on the ITF’s banned substances list on Jan. 1, 2016. Sharapova said she had been prescribed the drug legally for a decade, taking it for magnesium deficiency and irregular EKG results, and hadn’t realized it was banned this year. She admitted to receiving an e-mail notification about the rules change on Dec. 22 but said she did not open the e-mail.
That could be important, because ITF’s Article 10.2.3 states, in part:
As used in Articles 10.2 and 10.3, the term “intentional” is meant to identify those Players or other Persons who cheat. The term, therefore, requires that the Player or other Person engaged in conduct that he/she knew constituted an Anti-Doping Rule Violation [...] .
Sharapova, 28, is ranked No. 7 worldwide by the Women’s Tennis Association and made it clear that the press conference was not announcing her retirement, despite a number of recent injuries that caused her to withdraw from the U.S. Open last year. Sharapova’s violation occurred on Jan. 26 at the Australian Open, the same day the fifth-seeded Sharapova lost to Serena Williams.
“I made a huge mistake,” Sharapova said at the press conference. “I don’t want to end my career this way.”
Hasn't lost sense of humor: Says if she were to announce retirement she would not do so in a hotel room "on this fairly ugly carpet."
— Douglas Robson (@dougrobson) March 7, 2016
Sharapova is the seventh athlete to test positive for Meldonium this year, per the New York Times. Top Russian ice dancer Ekaterina Bobrova also announced failing a test for the drug at a press conference Monday. The World Anti-Doping Agency added Meldonium this year because they suspected athletes were using it to enhance performances.
The ITF has not yet announced a punishment for Sharapova.
In her career, Sharapova has won five Grand Slam titles, third-most among active players.
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