When the World Anti-Doping Agency sends an athlete an updated banned substances list, it’s probably in the athlete’s best interest to click on the link to said list. Unfortunately, former world No. 1 tennis star Maria Sharapova neglected to do so, and is now facing as-yet-unknown consequences for her career on the court.
The five-time Grand Slam winner announced in a presser on Monday afternoon that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open, having tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking for health reasons since 2006.
Maria #Sharapova says she takes “full responsibility” for failing a drugs test.https://t.co/5W6giNqtFj pic.twitter.com/FTBu6DOZI0
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 7, 2016
That the substance was only added to WADA’s banned substances list on January 1, 2016 adds a bit of a wrinkle to Sharapova’s reveal, which she calls a “huge mistake.” The WTA has yet to announce any sanctions stemming from the 28-year-old’s failed drug test, though it seems reasonable that it will involve some sort of suspension from the sport.
In the lead-up to Sharapova’s announcement, the prevailing rumor was that the Russian would announce her retirement, having not competed since January’s Australian open. For Sharapova’s part, she more or less shot down that notion, saying that shes hopes to be “given another chance to play this game.”