(CNN) Maria Sharapova has been suspended for two years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after testing positive for banned drug meldonium.
The ITF made the announcement today (Wednesday), ending weeks of speculation about the future of the richest female athlete of the past decade.
Sharapova stunned the world in March when the five-time grand slam winner said in a Los Angeles press conference arranged by her entourage that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open on January 26. She received a provisional ban on March 12.
Maria Sharapova serves the ball during a Wimbledon match in July. The Russian superstar, the world’s highest paid female athlete of the last decade, announced Monday, March 7, that she failed a drug test at this year’s Australian Open
In the wake of today’s verdict, Sharapova said she would appeal the verdict in a statement on her Facebook page.
Russia planned to include Sharapova on its Olympic tennis team but the suspension now rules out of August’s Rio Games.
Maria Sharapova
The ITF and WADA can all appeal the verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 29-year-old claimed she had been taking meldonium since 2006 for heart issues, a magnesium deficiency and because her family has a history of diabetes.
Sharapova, who has continued to promote her candy company Sugarpova since being suspended, said she simply failed to read an email that stated meldonium would be added to the banned list on Jan. 1. It was an oversight, she said, adding that she knew the drug by its trade name Mildronate.
Meldonium isn’t approved for use in the U.S. — where Sharapova has lived since the age of seven — by the Food and Drug Administration.
It was added to the prohibited list “because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance,” WADA said on its website.
Boosting endurance and helping in the recovery process are potential benefits for athletes.
The Partnership for Clean Competition — which includes the NFL, MLB, U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Anti-Doping — said on its website last October that 182 or 2.2% of 8,300 urine samples collected from athletes contained Mildronate, which was then still legal.
“From an anti-doping perspective, the 2.2% rate in this study was concerning,” said Dr. Larry Bowers, chairperson of the PCC Scientific Board,
“This figure represents more than twice the overall rate of laboratory findings for a single drug than any of the substances on the Prohibited List.”
The government is pushing to establish dedicated tapeball cricket facilities in every administrative region as part of efforts to strengthen grassroots sports.
Minister of Culture,...
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Sunday evening urged young Guyanese to seize the unprecedented opportunities being created by the rapid economic expansion, encouraging...
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand, this morning visited the Herstelling/Little Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) following a fire that damaged...
Two officers and twenty-eight other ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) have successfully completed an intensive Jungle Life Training programme conducted by the...
Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett today had an engaging discussion with Heads of Missions of the European Union Member States, chaired by H.E. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis,...
The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development is in the process of developing protocols to be followed by Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) in...
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd has lobbied the Organisation of American States (OAS) for their support of Guyana’s candidate for the...
New Zealand middle-order batter Bevon Jacobs has joined the Desert Vipers for the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League 2026 (GSL), where he is expected...
Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Priya Manickchand has announced that the Government is in the process of developing 21 model communities across the...
See full statement from Ogle Airport Inc.:
Ogle Airport Inc. (OAI) conducted its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Friday, 26th June, 2026, and elected the...
