LONDON, June 8: Maria Sharapova has been banned from tennis for two years by an independent tribunal for failing a drug test.
Sharapova was provisionally suspended in early March after revealing she had tested positive for meldonium at that year’s Australian Open. She will not be allowed to compete until 26 January 2018.
The 29-year-old Russian said she had been using the substance, under the name of mildronate, after it was prescribed by her doctor in 2006 to deal with health issues such as an irregular heartbeat and a history of diabetes in her family.
Sharapova said she was unaware of both the different name and the fact it is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list until receiving a letter notifying her of the positive test 10 days prior to her revelation, made during a press conference in Los Angeles.“I let my fans down, I let the sport down that I have been playing since the age of four and I love so deeply,” said Sharapova to the gathered media.
“I know with this I face consequences and I don’t want to end my career this way and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game.”
