Former tennis world No.1 Maria Sharapova said that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for the last 10 years for health issues. The 28-year-old Russian tested positive for meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium, and was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as of January 1, 2016.
"I received a letter from the ITF (International Tennis Federation) saying that I had failed a drug test at the Australian Open ... and I take full responsibility for it," Sharapova told a news conference.
"For the past 10 years, I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor. It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine. But on January the first, the rules have changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance."
Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks, but some researchers have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. It is not approved in the United States but is available in Russia, Latvia and other countries in that region. The stunning news came a day after Sharapova's management team said she was going to make a "major announcement.."
"I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down and I let the sport down. I have been playing since the age of four a sport that I love so deeply," said Sharapova. "I know that with this I face consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game." Sharapova, who has struggled with a series of injuries in recent years, has not competed since she lost to Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January.
