Russian tennis superstar, Maria Sharapova is planning to appeal to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after her two-year suspension for using banned drug, Meldonium was announced on June 8, Wednesday. (Photo : Facebook/ Maria Sharapova)
Five-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova has been banned from playing tennis for two years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after she tested positive twice for the prohibited drug, Meldonium. The decision was announced on June 8, Wednesday, and she has since expressed her wish to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Sharapova was given a two-year suspension instead of four years, which the ITF sought earlier. A lower term of suspension is given to first-time offenders, who were believed to have not intentionally cheated, CNN reported. The decision wrapped up weeks of speculations surrounding the fate of the richest female athlete of the past decade.
In an interview with the publication, the ITF said that they would not appeal to the CAS. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on the other hand will review the decision whether or not it will pass the case to the Swiss court.
In a long, emotional post on Facebook, Sharapova defended herself by stating that the ITF tribunal concluded that what she did was unintentional. She also pointed out that she did not violate any anti-doping rules, and so she is going to appeal the decision to the CAS.
The lower term of Sharapova's suspension, however, does not guarantee that she is innocent because the tribunal made it clear at the end of their statement that she is the sole author of her misfortune.
In March, Sharapova announced publicly that she tested positive on a drug test during the Australian Open in January. She went on a provisional suspension on March 12. In the midst of Sharapova's ban from sports, her sponsors have expressed their decision to keep or desert her.
Racket provider, Head remained at her side, while Nike that earlier withdrew its support, backed her again on Wednesday's ruling. Porsche presently postponed any planned activities with Sharapova, while the Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer cut its ties with her.
The suspension concurred to the announcement this week that Sharapova was overtaken by her rival, Serena Williams as the world's richest female athlete. She had reportedly earned £21.9 million in 2015, but her record is expected to plunge over the next 12 months.
Sharapova will not be able to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio this August, and she will definitely miss the entire 2016 Grand Slam season. It has been two years since Shrapova's victory in the 2014 French Open and most likely, her 26th position today could indicate that she already lost her stardom in the industry, according to USA Today.
Meldonium is primarily used as an anti-ischemic medication. The WADA has placed the medication under its list of banned drugs for athletes since January 2016. There were speculations that it is used as an athletic drug enhancer by some sportsmen.
Sharapova had been using meldonium since 2006 due to health reasons. Earlier in 2016, she admitted using it and defended that she had not read the emails that were sent to warn athletes about its banned substances. Sharapova also thought that Mildronate was different from meldonium.
The tribunal found that Sharapova had been using the drug before the matches and did not indicate it on the doping control forms. In 2015, she tested positive for meldonium five times.
The next court hearing for Sharapova will be next month. For the meantime, she is waiting to appeal to the ITF to lower the two-year suspension given to her.
Check out more details on Sharapova's suspension:
