Sharapova Suspended for Two Years

MARIA Sharapova, the five-time tennis Grand Slam champion, has been handed a two-year ban after failing a drugs test at the Australian Open in January.

Roger Federer has come out and publicly said he supports Maria Sharapova’s two year ban from tennis for taking ab illegal substance, much to the surprise of many.

In laborious detail, the Tribunal dismissed Sharapova’s claim that she was prescribed heart medication meldonium by her doctor for health issues dating back to 2006, including magnesium deficiency, an irregular heartbeat and a family history of diabetes.

In a Facebook post following the tribunal’s decision, Sharapova described the two-year suspension as “unfairly harsh”.

“With their decision of a two-year suspension, the ITF tribunal unanimously concluded that what I did was not intentional.

“The ITF spent tremendous amounts of time and resources trying to prove I intentionally violated the anti-doping rules and the tribunal concluded I did not”.

24 March Wada reveals 123 cases involving Meldonium have been recorded since the drug was banned on 1 January.

The appeal will be sent to the Court of Arbitration in Sport, and three judges will make the ruling.

Nike however, said on Wednesday they would continue to work with Sharapova.

“We believe, based on the facts and circumstances provided to us, that is a flawed decision”.

Sharapova hasn’t played since a quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams at this year’s Australian Open, and she is ranked 26th this week.

The landing page on Wada’s website to the list of banned substances.

Using WADA’s decision rubric, WADA’s decision to ban Meldonium is not based upon extensive clinical testing that underlines Meldonium’s performance enhancing benefits.

At the time, HEAD, another Sharapova sponsor, backed the star saying she had made an “honest mistake”.

United States sports goods giant Nike said on Wednesday it will resume its sponsorship of Maria Sharapova, insisting the banned Russian star had not intentionally committed a doping offence.

Another sponsor, the Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer – part of the LVMH group – halted negotiations in March over renewing a sponsorship deal with Sharapova.

In conclusion, the tribunal said: “She is the sole author of her own misfortune”. If she loses her appeal, her suspension will run through January 25, 2018 and aside from the Rio Olympics, she would miss eight Grand Slam tournaments during what is likely the remainder of her prime playing years. But after the weak defence that her manager Max Eisenfed brought forward, there was no choice the ITF had, except to hand her the ban.

Given Head’s ongoing support for Sharapova, its response was not as surprising as Nike, which backflipped on its contract suspension.