Los Angeles: Former World number one tennis player, Maria Sharapova received a flurry of reactions after she was provisionally suspended for failing a drug test at the Australian Open.
“I take full responsibility for it,” she said. “I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down. I let my sport down.
“I don’t want to end my career this way. I know many of you thought I was retiring. But if I was ever going to announce my retirement it would not be in this downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet.”
She mentioned the drug’s name is Meldonium and had been prescribed by a doctor. She said she has a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes. She said the drug was not on the banned list for the last 10 years but as of Jan. 1 the rules changed. She said she does not know yet how long she will be held out of competition. The test was done at the Australian Open in January.
World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed the drug was added to the banned list this year “because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.” The tennis star had provided the anti-doping sample on January 26, the day she lost to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarter finals.
Subscribe to our email newsletter to get the latest posts delivered right to your email.
Comments