Maria Sharapova ban: Tennis star facing one-year suspension after accepting positive test for meldonium

The world’s most famous sportswoman and the planet’s highest-earning female athlete for more than a decade revealed at a press conference in Los Angeles that she had failed a drugs test. Sharapova said she had tested positive at this year’s Australian Open for meldonium, which she had been taking for health reasons since 2006.

Meldonium was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances at the start of this year, but Sharapova had not been aware of that fact because she had failed to read details of the updated legislation which had been sent to her. The drug is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks, but it is also said to improve athletic performance and endurance.

Sharapova, who is likely to receive a lengthy ban, said she hoped this would not mark the end of her career. “I made a huge mistake,” she admitted. “I received a letter on 22 December from WADA – an email with the changes happening for next year and a link to a button which you can press to see the prohibited items for 2016. I did not look at that list.”
The list of changes to the prohibited list for 2016, which was sent to all athletes, is very short and states clearly that meldonium has been “added to the Prohibited list”.

The Independent