In a shock announcment today Maria Sharapova announced that she failed a drug test in January at the Australian Open for Meldonium. She was only just alerted by the ITF of the failed test a few days ago. Regarding the failed drug test Sharapova said that, “I’ve let my fans down, let my sport down.” Sharapova went on to say that she did not realize that the drug had been banned this year and added that “I don’t want to end my career this way and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game.” She said that for 10 years she was taking the medicine legally and was unaware that the rules had changed on January 1st concerning Meldonium’s presence on banned substance list.
Tennis player Maria Sharapova says she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open in January #SkyNewsTonight https://t.co/meMTnumDNn
— Sky News Tonight (@SkyNewsTonight) March 7, 2016
This is obviously a huge shock to the tennis world but it seems that she is taking the situation very serious and talk of not wanting to end her career in this manner speak to the severity of this failed test. No ban has been imposed yet but stay tuned for any additional news concerning Maria Sharapova’s failed drug test.
Video of the full press conference below.
