Maria Sharapova Receives Two-Year Ban for Failed Drugs Test

After testing positive for meldonium at the beginning of the year, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has decided to ban Maria Sharapova for two years from the sport.

(Image credit: Eurosport)

The Russian tennis star failed a drugs test in January as she was competing in the Australian Open, which saw her receive a suspension until the Independent Tribunal settled on the two-year ban, according to Eurosport. The ITF had originally sought a four-year ban for Maria Sharapova, however the Tribunal decided to scale it down to half that time, as they concluded she did not take the drugs for performance enhancement reasons.

The 29-year-old plans to immediately lodge an appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The time she has served on the sidelines since January counts towards the two-year ban, which, if it stands, would not see her return to professional tennis until January 26, 2018.

“While the tribunal concluded correctly that I did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules, I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension,” said Sharapova. “The tribunal, whose members were selected by the ITF, agreed that I did not do anything intentionally wrong, yet they seek to keep me from playing tennis for two years: I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

The drug in question was meldonium (also known as Mildronate), which she was actively taking from her family doctor for nearly a decade in order to battle angina, treat heart problems and diabetes, according to Sky Sports. The substance was added to the Prohibited List at the very start of 2016 by the World Anti-Doping Agency, however Sharapova was unaware of its inclusion to the banned list.

The ITF statement read, “An Independent Tribunal appointed under Article 8.1 of the 2016 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (the “Programme”) has found that Maria Sharapova committed as Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme and as a consequence has disqualified the affected results and imposed a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 26 January 2016.”

(For more information about the case, read the full official statement by the ITF.)

Djokovic is looking to get his hands on his third successive Wimbledon title this year
(Image credit: Goobjoog Sports)

Bet on the upcoming Wimbledon matches with online sportsbook Bet365. (Check out Betting Herald’s Bet365 Sports Review for more info about the online sportsbook.)

Serena Williams will be looking to defend her Wimbledon title this year 2.50 (6/4), while Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza are underdogs with both having chances of 7.00 (6/1), per online sportsbook odds. Victoria Azarenka is the fourth favourite 9.00 (8/1), while Simona Halep is an outsider 21.00 (20/1) for the title.

For Men’s Wimbledon, Serbian star Novak Djokovic is the current champion of the previous two editions of the tournament, and he’ll be aiming to make it his third successive title 1.72 (8/11). The world No. 1 recently defeated Andy Murray in the French Open final, so the Scot might try to get his revenge at Wimbledon. Online sportsbook Bet365 gives Murray underdog chances 4.00 (3/1) to clinch the title for the second time in his career this year, after first claiming it in 2013. Roger Federer 9.00 (8/1) is behind the French Open runner-up, while Stan Wawrinka is viewed as a heavy underdog 17.00 (16/1), per online sportsbook odds.