ITF slams Sharapova with 2year ban from professional tennis, following use of banned substance
Thu Jun 09, 2016 10:31:am Sports
1.9K By Buchi Obichie
Five-time tennis Grand Slam champion, Maria Sharapova, has been handed a two-year ban after failing a drugs test at the Australian Open in January.
The 29-year-old Russian player took meldonium, a drug commonly used to treat heart disease, for a period of time which overlapped the 1 January 2016 cut-off date, when it was added to the banned substances list of the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA.
Meldonium is a metabolic modulator which increases stamina and endurance; and Sharapova was informed of the ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) at an anti-doping hearing in London on Wednesday.
Sharapova narrowly avoided the maximum four-year ban, after WADA admitted earlier this year that scientists could not determine how long the drug remained in the user's system after it had been taken.
The 2year ban has been back-dated to 26 January 2016 at the Court of Arbitration for Sports; but Sharapova is expected to file an appeal.
The 29-year-old Russian player took meldonium, a drug commonly used to treat heart disease, for a period of time which overlapped the 1 January 2016 cut-off date, when it was added to the banned substances list of the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA.
Meldonium is a metabolic modulator which increases stamina and endurance; and Sharapova was informed of the ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) at an anti-doping hearing in London on Wednesday.
Sharapova narrowly avoided the maximum four-year ban, after WADA admitted earlier this year that scientists could not determine how long the drug remained in the user's system after it had been taken.
The 2year ban has been back-dated to 26 January 2016 at the Court of Arbitration for Sports; but Sharapova is expected to file an appeal.
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