Sharapova announces failed drug test at Australian Open

March 7, 2016 Ricky News 234

Maria Sharapova is not retiring. But she may be away from tennis for a while–and not just because of her recent injury problems.

At her highly-anticipated press conference on Monday, Sharapova announced that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open. The 28-year-old Russian received a letter from the ITF last week saying she had tested positive tested positive for meldonium.

“I did fail the test and I take full responsibility for that,” Sharapova said. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine by my family doctor. For the past 10 years this medicine was not on the banned list and I had been legally taking the medicine, but on January 1 the rules changed and [it] became a prohibited substance, which I did not know.”

Sharapova did not indicate if she has been notified of any possible suspension.

Announcement and press conference:

234 Comments on Sharapova announces failed drug test at Australian Open

  5. ITF, March 7, 2016: ¤¤Tennis Anti-Doping Programme statement regarding Maria Sharapova

    PRESS RELEASE

    Following the statement made by Maria Sharapova in a press conference today, the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) can confirm the following:
    – On 26 January 2016, Ms Sharapova provided an anti-doping sample to the TADP in association with her participation in the 2016 Australian Open.
    – That sample was analysed by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory, which returned a positive for meldonium, which is a prohibited substance under the WADA Code and, therefore also the TADP.
    – In accordance with Article 8.1.1 of the TADP, Ms Sharapova was charged on 2 March with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
    – Ms Sharapova has accepted the finding of meldonium in her sample collected on 26 January.
    – As meldonium is a non-specified substance under the WADA (and, therefore, TADP) list of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited Methods, Ms Sharapova will be provisionally suspended with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case.
    … ¤¤
    Read more at http://www.itftennis.com/news/225826.aspx#2AEKS6LuquxmoHo6.99

    Reply

  6. What a shock! I admire her courage for being open about it. She is taking full responsibility. still pretty shocking.

    Reply

    • In the light of later revelations I admit I was taken in by the ‘frank and open’ admission.
      However you have to admire her PR machine for their masterly damage limitation exercise!

      Reply

  10. Wow! I happened to check in and saw this latest news about Sharapova testing positive for a banned substance.

    Have they said how long she will be banned?

    Reply

  13. Sharapova has been using a performance enhancing drug (PED, legally,from the time she became a tennis pro. The drug did not become performance enhancing when WADA banned it in 2015, it has always been performance enhancing. All those titles/trophies/accolades she received all her playing career, she won while doped-up.

    According to Maria, her “family doctor” (Pusher, to those who prefer to not mince their words, like me)prescribed the drug after she had suffered multiple bouts with the flu, received erratic EKG results, and was diagnosed with a “deficiency in magnesium” and “signs of diabetes.”” There you have it. Naturally, she would then go on to hawk candy and build a multi-million dollar company selling……….you guessed it, diabetes. Expect her to run for President soon.

    Oh, and of course having her presser on the same day Peyton Manning announces his retirement was purely coincidental. Nothing to do with wanting to make sure hers wouldn’t be the top story on the day in the US. All business, our Maria…

    Never been a fan of Serena but couldn’t help but wonder what the reaction would have been if it had been her caught with hands in the candy jar, pun fully intended. Well, this poster on Tennis.com gave me the answer,

    “JOYSEE says:
    Tennis made an example out of Serena for her actions at the 2009 US Open, HUGE fine and 2 year probation, so DoperRova shouldn’t get preferential treatment, had EITHER of the Williams sister had done this OMG, they would be arrested and on their way to prison without a trial, flogged, tarred and feathered, Daddy Richard and Mother Oracene would be swinging by their necks from the same tree, the two remaining sisters would be hiding from the Klan fearing for their lives, all the Williams money and possessions would be seiged and, donated to all the trailer parks across America, isn’t America great.””

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/03/marias-mystifying-mistake/57824/#.Vt5oNaRunIU

    And of course Maria has some intrepid Tennis Reporters already inventing excuses for her:

    RT @Richard Ingham Evans
    ‏”I simply refuse to believe @MariaSharapova would have defied a new WADA directive.So why wasn’t she told by @ITF, @WTA or her staff”

    This must be very difficult for Mr. Ingham and her legion of fans, sorry, Reporters, out there. They do not even want to believe what she herself said at her presser. ““I received an email,” she said, “on December 22, 2015, from WADA about the changes happening to the banned list, and you can see prohibited items, and I didn’t click on that link.””

    She did not click on the link. She had more important things to do, hawking diabetes.

    Reply

    • Hi there RITB – long time no see.
      Great post btw.
      We were singing from the same songsheet the last time high profile names were telling porky pies. None as high as this though.

      #FearOfNeedles
      #Don’tUnderstandFrench

      Reply

  15. Whatever the outcome for Maria, that this case has come to light is a monumental blow for the sport of tennis at a time when they are trying desperately to convince the world that doping is not endemic in tennis. The reverberations will be felt far and wide beyond the tennis community.

    #Echoes of the Lance Armstrong fall from grace.

    Reply

  17. If they establish that there is no medical reason for her to take the drug then she has only been taking it to enhance her performance. As RITB says, how can someone with diabetes be promoting sweets?

    Reply

  18. At the time of his appointment as ATP chairman Chris Kermode had this to say:

    “The programme has improved significantly over the last few years,” Kermode replies, before making it very clear that it is a priority for the ATP to prove to cynics that the sport is not too good to be true.

    “It’s a big issue for me to make the statement that our sport is clean – which I wholeheartedly believe it is – and we are gathering all the information from all the governing bodies to make sure we will be world leaders in making sure our programme is the best it can be.

    I think men’s tennis is one of the greatest sports on the planet

    Chris Kermode
    “I will make sure as a governing body that we will do everything. We are taking this incredibly seriously and, for me, the concern is making sure we are telling the world the facts. We are clean.”

    Reply

  21. Hi there Tenngranders! *waves*

    I cannot believe what I am reading online about the Maria debacle. Some people are actually praising her for taking responsibility and coming out and owning up to her mistake. Like, who but her was supposed to come out and take responsibility for her actions? Seriously, are our morals this kaput? Praising someone for what she should do?

    If Tennis is serious they will erase all her records and titles earned since she started taking this drug. They were earned unfairly. If she is really upstanding she would voluntarily give them all back. Now, that would be something to praise her for.

    Her doctors knew the drug was performance enhancing. She knew it was performance enhancing and cynically took it because it was not banned at the time. This was a cynical abuse of the system. Maria Sharapova is a drugs cheat and she should be punished accordingly.

    Reply

    • What still puzzles me is why she would continue to take it if she knew it had been added to the list.

      Truly bizarre.

      I bet she gets just six months missing the Olympics.

      Reply

      • Yes, truly bizarre @hawkeye, as is her saying she received e-mail from WADA and did not open the link. Surely having been in the business as long as she has, she would have received lots of similar e-mails from WADA with updates on banned substances. If you are on a drug prescribed by a doctor, wouldn’t you be especially on the look-out to see that the drug you are on is no longer illegal?

        Sharapova is a very smart person. So is Armstrong et al. My own feeling is that people like Sharapova and Armstrong begin to believe the marketing hype around them and start to believe they are untouchable.

        Armstrong may never have been caught if he had not, ill-advisedly, come out of retirement to compete again. Likewise, Maria would not have been caught had she opened the WADA email. Btw, her saying she did not open it is a blooming lie. She opened the email,saw that her drug was now illegal but continued taking it because she thought she was too big to be outed.

        Reply

        • All speculation. Even though some of the stuff she has said does not seem 100% true, we don’t know the full truth. She has been a massive fighter all her life and has battled many injuries too. Her courage has always been admirable.

          Would still give the benefit of doubt to the athlete until things get a bit clearer.

          Reply

      • catching up with some details… six months won’t be enough. They should at least make her miss the whole year.

        can’t be sure what exactly her intentions were but this is extremely negligent behavior nonetheless and deserves proper punishment.

        Reply

  22. From the twitter….

    BREAKING: TAG Heuer, which has been with Maria Sharapova since 2004, says their relationship is now over

    Reply

  24. If what shara shared is the whole story, then I applaud her for coming out. we’ve seen so many athletes who go through protests and try to defame whoever accuses them… Of course it’s a terrible situation to be in, but she handled it as best as one could have.

    I’m hoping what I said above is the case here. However another part of me wonders if this is all she’s done, and the quick press release is just a way to c cover something much bigger…

    Reply

    • Good read from the Guardian, thanks, rafaisthebest.
      Initially I wanted to believe the story when I watched her telling it live. After the surprise and denial settled, I’m not going to spend more time on it – for me it’s pretty clear now. Good luck to her. I still can’t put her in the same class of doper with Lance Armstrong – he bullied all his teammates into taking EPO, scammed, pushed, lied, denied, perhaps worst of all, imo, was using his cancer as a cover to abuse EPO and other substances under the direction and help of infamous Dr. Michele Ferrari. Ruined lives and families. What a train-wreck.

      One more link from me on the subject – a well-referenced one.
      https://jakegshelley.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/what-is-melodoniummildronate/

      Reply

      • Agree @ratcliff, on the difference with Lance Armstrong. Lance knowingly took banned drugs which were performance enhancing. Maria knowingly took legal drugs, for the better part of her career, which were performance enhancing.

        Big and important difference although the effect was the same.

        Maria may be a doper, like Lance, but she sure ain’t a socio/psychopath, like Lance.

        Reply

        • rafaisthebest, you might be interested in occasionally reading this thread in the link I’ll post. There is a lot of pure garbage poster’s. But Alex Simmons, Python, Zinoviev Letter, Merckx Index, and others are wise, experienced, thoughtful researchers and trusted voices on the subject of doping in sports. As it is on these tennis blogs, there are certain voices you come to respect over time. Happy to see you’re here now.
          http://forum.cyclingnews.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18222&start=2680

          Reply

          • Well, what do you know, I read cyclingnews.com religiously, I’m a cycling nut. I thought @ed251137 and I were the only ones following cycling on this forum. Doping has been a blight on cycling for a long time this is why this Maria issue piqued my interest. I hope the Tennis authorities use this incident to seriously address the issue in the sport, like how the authorities in cycling used the Lance incident to shine a light on the problem in that sport. I doubt Maria is the only one who has been/is gaming the system in tennis.

          • Maybe we should ask Ricky for a cycling page? In due time, of course. First things first – Indian Wells!

            I’ve gone through far too much to moralize or condemn, though I make an exception sometimes, as with Lance Armstrong. My favorite cyclists: Contador and Nibali – because of how they ride a bike, animate races, inspire. Do they dope/ have they doped? Of course. The problem is/has been an epidemic. From the comment section in Jake Gilley’s blog:

            SportsDoc March 8, 2016 at 6:14 am
            Dear Che: The fundamental issue is a level playing field for all competitors in all elite sport. This is essential to maintain or else all elite sport competition is tainted. All elite athletes train extremely hard and devote years to their sport so that they may compete with the best. We must maintain the principle of fair competition for all; otherwise these important events will be forever tainted.

            That’s the goal, I think. How do we get there?

          • Like this post from cyclingnews.com:

            arcus wrote:

            “A key issue (for me) is if she disclosed this as a prescribed medication on her many doping-control forms over the past 10 years (during which time she states she took the drug)… Do we trust the ITF to honestly disclose this information?

            I’ll say it again, as an MD, I can personally think of no legitimate reason, apart from doping, for her to be on that drug.

            She lives in the US, home to some of the most excellent health care in the world. Is she really getting her primary medical care in Russia, Latvia or Georgia, the only countries where this drug is approved?”

          • Arcus is new to me. Is he a Doc? Kinda sounds like he might be. I liked most of his points yesterday. But I’m cautious about posters with less than 1,000 posts in the clinic 😀

  26. http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/08/meldonium-maria-sharapova-failed-drugs-test

    Read more

    • Wada found “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance” by virtue of carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue.

    • L’Equipe reported that the scientific advisor to the French Agency Against Doping (AFLD), Professor Xavier Bigard, said in interviews with athletes at last year’s European Games in Baku that a wide proportion of athletes admitted taking meldonium.”

    Well, well. I guess this “wide proportion” of athletes will all claim to have made an honest mistake when they are caught. I also guess they have all suffered from multiple bouts with the flu, received erratic EKG results, and were diagnosed with a “deficiency in magnesium” and “signs of diabetes.”

    Pull the other one.

    Reply

  27. Basically, it’s a PED that athletes thought was legal because it had not been banned so they felt they could use it. According to Pam Shriver on ESPN, it’s because of the wide use of it amongst athletes that WADA DECIDED TO BAN IT.

    The question is, is it illegal to use anything at all to help you perform and train better even if it is not banned like the CVAC chamber?

    Reply

      • I agree that if it is not banned, then it’s okay to use it.

        I just do not choose to exult or somehow enjoy a player’s fall from grace. She did not try to blame others, did not deny it. She certainly never engaged in the behavior and cover up and intimidation that Armstrong did.

        Reply

        • NNY: I don’t see any comments by faithful Tenngranders exulting in her fall from grace. Far from it. Questionning the veracity of her claims and/or a degree of disapproval is only to be expected: it does not constitute gloating at the predictament she is in.

          Take note of RITB’s searching analyses as the story has unfolded and in particular her post at March 8, 3.04pm

          Reply

    • “The question is, is it illegal to use anything at all to help you perform and train better even if it is not banned like the CVAC chamber?”

      That is the question being posed by the Guardian article I posted above, @nadline:

      “Far less binary are the ethical issues the episode raises. If you take a medicine or supplement that isn’t strictly banned but which makes you feel better on court and in general, is it wrong? Sharapova admitted on Monday to having taken a drug for a decade that the World Anti-Doping Agency has banned after it was proven to enhance performance considerably, a timeframe that raises a concern over what medical reasons justify such long-term use.

      That’s the question confronting the general public when asked to assess whether Sharapova’s achievements and reputation should be called into question.”

      Valid question, worthy of debate.

      Reply

        • Way back, early in his career, Djokovic said ‘I’ll do anything legal to win’

          I belong to a generation who were taught the concept ‘even if you are not breaking the letter of the law you are breaking the spirit of that law’

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          • Wouldn’t be surprised to see WADA put the CVAC chamber on the banned list just like they have now done with the Maria drug.

          • “But how can they prove use of the chamber?”

            Good question. WADA would have to hire a team of stalkers to shadow each and every player! Impossible. But they do not need to catch anyone using it to ban it. They can use empirical evidence to prove that the chamber enhances performance and thus ban it. It would then be up to the player(s) to decide to take a chance with a banned contraption or not.

  28. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/how-do-you-absolve-a-problem-like-maria-20160308-gndtb7.html

    Pretty savage take, but asks the right questions.

    “The way this looks and walks and quacks, it is beginning to appear very much like a duck.

    ………..But she continued to use it for a decade, knowing it was not approved for sale in the US and had to be sourced from its maker in Latvia, which, at the very least, must have made her wonder if she was onto something that no one else was. She said it made her “healthy”. Evidently, her decrease in performance eased; she won four more major championships to add to her maiden triumph at Wimbledon in 2004.

    Meldonium was provisionally on the list last year, flagged for monitoring, and incorporated onto the list proper this year, banned “because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance”. In a nutshell, it was identified as one of the steps by which the baddies are said always to be ahead of the goodies.

    Sharapova says she did not read the list this year, nor, presumably, last year. Nor did any of her many minders. Nor did she or they listen to the annual briefing before the Australian Open. This from a player who is so careful, thorough and precise in her tennis routines that she will not walk on the lines on court between points. Quack, quack.

    Yes, life can be pretty hectic on the various red carpets and while shooting the commercials, and too many Sugarpovas probably have a bit of a red cordial effect, but you may think an alarm bell might have rung about then. Waddle, waddle, waddle.

    It is hard not to conclude that here is one dead duck.”

    Reply

  29. @ratcliff’s link: “Meldonium is an anti-ischemic drug used clinically to treat angina, myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure. It is manufactured in Latvia under the commercial name of Mildronate and is one of the countries largest exports, with turnover reaching EUR 65 million in 2013. It is not yet approved by the FDA for use in the USA.”

    If the drug is to treat heart disease where does diabetes come into the equation?

    Reply

    • I saw the interview on telly. Very impressed with Serena’s poise, maturity and thoughtfulness in answering the questions which clearly were leading, designed to bait her into carelessly putting the boot into Maria. She wisely did not bite.

      Props.

      Reply

  32. We’re about to find out just how serious the ITF/ATP/WTA are about tackling the doping problem in tennis.
    In recent years the only big fish who didn’t manage to wriggle out of a ban was Troicki. Presumably they feared to accept his plea would’ve laid them open to a mass outbreak of needle phobia within the sport.

    This is the first time a mega star has been in the dock.

    Reply

      • Are you thinking the whole business is a storm in a teacup?

        I’m beginning to suspect it could all be an elaborate charade by the ‘suits in charge’ to make us believe they are intending to crack down hard on any culprit in the future. And Sharapova is their willing accomplice.

        I’ve been puzzling all day about her poise and calmness while making the announcement. Her body language was not that of somebody facing the stress of making an announcement which could well spell the end of her career.

        Far fetched I agree. But it could explain some of the anomalies.

        Reply

        • Look, I pretty much lost my innocence on doping in sports during the Lance affair. I idolized him, he had everything I liked in a sportsman: he had panache, athleticism, swagger, personality and fearlessness plus, he knew how to ride a bike. I still love cycling but I am no longer naïve. My current favourite, Contador, doped and was caught. I still like his bike riding but I know he lied about his doping.

          Reeshad doped, so did Cilic, so did Troicki, so did Wayne. Of course they’ll tell you the drugs walked into their mouths while they were sleeping or it was doctor’s orders, they want to save their professional lives.

          Having said that, I would never accuse someone of doping unless I saw proof or they confessed to it, which Maria has done, after being caught of course.

          So, yeah, pro sports is a ruthless business and stuff does happen. Innocent until proven guilty must stand but if one is guilty they must face the consequences.

          Just don’t think Maria will suffer the full consequences though. Just a feeling.

          Reply

          • hawkeye March 8, 2016 AT 10:33 PM

            I’m more and more coming round to the belief it has all be settled behind closed doors. But boy, it’s done wonders for page traffic wherever you look.

          • RITB March 9, 2016 AT 5:12 AM

            Until the full scale of LA’a venality was exposed I had pretty much accepted a degree of doping was endemic to the sport. However, when the full extent of his nefarious behaviour came to light, I was appalled and like every other fan of his felt horribly betrayed.

      • Great article RITB. Sums it up:

        “Leaving aside this Soviet-era edict, from a country with a state sponsored doping programme in Olympic sports, Sharapova may well be the “leader” and “role model” many on the circuit believe her to be. But the rush to absolve her on grounds of personality and marketability is alarming. For a start, it shows there are different layers of judgment for the star of the women’s tennis circuit and, say, a calloused shot putter who tries to explain away a positive doping test as a “mistake”.”

        (For the record, I never bought Reeshard’s kiss-and-tell alibi either but then cocaine ain’t exactly performance enhancing.)

        Agassi got away with it and little has changed since.

        The big tennis personalities realize that we want to believe their stories. Maybe that is why she was willing to take the chance. Either that or she thought it was out of her system.

        Bizarre.

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  33. Serena was being a class act in not piling on here. I applaud her measured response.

    I am not about to throw out what Maria has done in this sport over this.

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  34. “The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said Sharapova had been informed of the positive test on March 2 and she will be provisionally suspended from March 12.”

    Still unclear when the ban length (if any) will be decided/announced.

    Reply

  35. I don’t want it to end her career. Whatever they decide, i don’t want it to be so long that it effectively means her career is over.

    Reply

  36. Sharapova the day AFTER she was notified of her positive drug test…

    “I am extremely disappointed that I am unable to compete in this year’s BNP Paribas Open,” Sharapova said. “I have been focused on healing my left forearm injury and tried to get my body to be 100% ready to play this event, as it is one of my favorites on the WTA and so close to my home in LA. I know the tournament will be a great success this year and I will be anxious to return next year and hopefully many years after.”

    Reply

  37. I see most people here believe two years is a fair suspension. In my eyes, any attempt of doping needs to result in permanent ban from the sport. Two years may seem like a long time, but the benefits of doping + having an extra chance(s) to succeed are much greater than a silly time off from the sport.

    This Shara incident is the perfect opportunity for ITF to address the integrity of the sport to all fans and players. Banning Shara for life would display the consequence of doping and truly make players rethink before taking such PEDs.

    It’s a cruel punishment for Maria, but it needs to happen.

    Reply

    • i’m not sure many people consider two years to be a fair suspension. But a lot of people suspect it could be the maximum. Personally I doubt the ITF will hang her out to dry.

      Reply

  38. rafaisthebest MARCH 9, 2016 AT 5:12 AM

    I agree with you and Hawks it is looking more and more likely she has been tipped off by the ITF she will be dealt with leniently. That would explain her calmness. The financial hit she is taking is but a drop in the ocean. She still has a healthy bank balance and her pension fund is secure even if some of her sponsorships fall by the wayside.

    Reply

    • http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sodstg

      “John Haggerty, an attorney for Maria Sharapova, said the five-time major winner will seek between no ban and a year’s suspension for her doping offense. Haggerty also said he is engaged in preliminary settlement talks with the ITF that could avoid the need for a hearing. “Something from zero to one is in the range we would like to see,” he said. Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open for meldonium, which WADA banned on Jan. 1.”

      There you have it, @hawkeye must have an inside track on Team Sharpie. Looks increasingly like the 6 months ban he is projecting will come to pass. Team Sharpie will have its way.

      Reply

  39. I absolutely do not believe in a life time ban. They didn’t do it to the others who got caught, so why make an exception for her?

    I don’t know if they are signaling that Maria will be dealt with leniently or not. I just weighed in with my belief that this should not end her career.

    I think it’s a joke to speak about the financial hit being a drop in the ocean. I guess some might wish that she become destitute in the bargain. I don’t think having a lot of money is going to ease the pain and stigma and punishment that will mar her career.

    People can be really harsh at times. It’s a shame. She will pay, but for some nothing will ever be enough.

    Reply

    • If you truly want to limit down doping users, you got to start doing something different. Every single athlete knows the consequences of taking PEDs. Clearly they take it because they believe a suspension is a simple slap on the wrist, compared to how much they gain taking illegal substance. In addition, they get a second chance to rejuvenate their career.

      Reply

      • ed,

        It’s pretty commonplace here to do that. Since I quoted part of what you said, it’s obvious that I was referencing at least part of what you said. However, you are hardly the only one to want more harsh sanctions against Maria. So that’s why I said “some people”. Others have been pretty harsh and want more severe penalties.

        I just thought it worthwhile to say that for an athlete to still be financially comfortable, does not in any way mitigate the blemish and stain on their record. She will be forever tainted by this and that is in some ways even a worse punishment.

        I don’t have to resort to hiding and being vague when I disagree. In this case, you are it the only person with whom I disagree. It’s not meant to be personal. We have agreed many times in the past and this time we simply do not.

        Reply

        • NNY: At no point have I called for a harsher punishment of Sharapova per se.. My quarrel is with the ITF who repeatably undermine the work of WADA and hinder the progress of stamping out the use of PEDs.

          Her net worth is put at $195million. Hence the comment (you described as being a joke) that losing any of her sponsorship income is ‘but a drop in the ocean’ i.e. in the context of her mind boggling overall wealth. I rather doubt, when you are as as rich as she is, any loss of prestige (if it comes to that) is going to keep her awake at night.

          What would be a tragedy is if this sorry affair tarnishes her reputation irretrievably. I still treasure the memory of watching this slip of a 17yr old facing down Serena at Wimbl3eon.

          It is clear we are never going to agree on all this. Let’s leave it at that.

          Reply

  40. I remember Rafa standing up for Gasquet when he got busted for cocaine. He was very vocal in his support for him. Maybe he knew something that others didn’t. Just a reminder that Rafa was a loyal friend to Gasquet and gave him support.

    Reply

    • **I have a feeling they tried read hard to negotiate with WADA on this. It’s perhaps the most high-profile case tennis has ever seen.**

      Interesting take Fedfan. It has oftem occurred to me WADA must be sick to death at the number of times the ITF have over-ruled cases at the appeal stage.

      Reply

      • Ed, yes, and I have a feeling that might happen again. I won’t accuse Maria of cheating for 10 years without knowing her medical condition and anyway the drug wasn’t banned but boy, what madness led her to ignore all the warnings over the past few months, god only knows.

        Reply

    • NNY @ 6.05am Introducing Rafa’s support of Gasquet is a red herring. You cannot compare that case with what is happening now. He was indulging in a recreational drug (albeit banned) not the long term use of a PED. Ditto Agassi.

      There is not a lot of sympathy for her predicament being expressed by the women players – past or present.
      Chris Evert explains why she thinks this is in the ESPN interview which nadline flagged up

      http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/14925933/manufacturer-says-4-6-weeks-normal-treatment-drug-maria-sharapova-case

      Reply

    • What has Gasquet testing positive for a recreational drug once, got to do with a player taking a PED legal or not for 10 years?

      Reply

  41. I’m stunned. When I read a while back that there was to be an announcement, I was sure it was retirement calling. No way could I have anticipated this though I’ve always been somewhat cynical about doping in sports.
    What I’d like to know, is at what point was she tested positive during the tournament? If it was prior to her last match, she clearly ought not to have been allowed to continue and the officials must be held liable as well. I have a feeling they tried read hard to negotiate with WADA on this. It’s perhaps the most high-profile case tennis has ever seen.

    Reply

  42. This Sharpie doping story has now entered the realm of farce:

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2016/03/4-6-weeks-is-normal-treatment-for-drug-in-sharapova-case/57827/#.VuAaqaRunIU

    “The drug at the center of Maria Sharapova’s doping case, regularly given to Soviet troops in the 1980s to boost their stamina while fighting in Afghanistan, is normally prescribed for medical use for periods of four to six weeks.”

    I guess she told herself she was going to war each time she stepped onto a tennis court.

    Reply

  43. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/the-times-sport/maria-sharapova-warned-five-times-over-meldonium/news-story/9391200ecf03e245cd88c4ffe923a1a3

    “Maria Sharapova was warned by tennis authorities no fewer than five times in the month before she failed a doping test that the drug she was taking had been added to the list of banned substances.

    Sharapova, who disclosed the positive finding at a news conference on Monday, claimed that she was unaware that the drug had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) banned list on January 1.

    However, it can be disclosed that during December there were five separate communications to tennis players, including Sharapova.”

    So, like all druggies, she is a liar. Explains why she did not want to click on the WADA e-mail link, she knew it would confirm what she already knew, that her drug of choice was now banned.

    Reply

  44. Why did WADA take so long to ban this drug even though they’ve known for a good while that many athletes were using it as PEDs? If they turn round and ban the CVAC now after turning a blind eye about it’s use what does that say about WADA?

    Reply

          • also, andy used the cvac pod for a while and then stopped not because as i recall, he suddenly decided it was unethical but because he didn’t much like it….

          • Amy,

            Good point! It’s all about pointing fingers at the chamber because Novak used it, when there are other things like the hyperbaric oxygen chamber that have been used.

            Vamosrafa brought up stem cell treatments used by Rafa. These treatments are being evaluated on an ongoing basis. If they do ban cvac at some point, then one cannot retroactively condemn the players who used it when it was not banned.

          • so confirmation from someone living in the states that stem cell treatments are being evaluated on an ongoing basis! So much for ethical issues.

            Rafa was beating him in 2012-13 and he was using the CVAS chamber back then too. I hope rafa can start beating him again, at least on clay .To hell with CVAC. I Don’t give a damm about it..

          • Nativenewyorker (AT 7:23 PM),
            —Vamosrafa brought up stem cell treatments used by Rafa.—
            ===
            .
            vr attacks Rafa without a reason. Stem cell treatment doesn’t enhance performance. The topic of the current article is using a performance enhancing drug. CVAC pod (chamber) enhances performance – according to WADA.

          • augusta, the performance enhancing qualities are negligible and anecdotal for both the egg and barimetric oxygen therapy, hence, they are not banned. I doubt it will be because CVAC and barimetric O2 therapy are more on the order of going gluten-free or spending a month Altitude training in Quito or the Canary Islands; they aren’t even close to the magnitude and pop of a performance enhancing drug or method like EPO, blood doping, or this substance:
            http://www.wired.com/2016/03/meldonium-became-doping-drug-choice/

      • @ vamosrafa 1:34 PM,

        we all know that…The conversation here is about doping…CVAC is forbidden in Europe. How come it’s still allowed in USA and Australia? People say it’s for pure profit oriented reasons and commercial based…the owner company earns enormous moneys and that seems stronger argument for it than the fact that it’s a type of doping…

        Maria’s “medicine” was not banned before 2016….the same will most likely be with the POD as I expect at some point it will also be banned…so if we use the analogy we shouldn’t complain about Maria as she was doing the same Novak currently does…except that Novak is not allowed to use it in Europe…that’s a BIG difference…one can’t help but be puzzled about it…

        Reply

        • how is it the same? it is common knowledge for years now that Djokovic uses the CVAC pod. The Bryans have used it, Murray has used it. Nobody knew Sharapova was using that drug until she got caught and then brought it to our knowledge.

          Reply

          • AT 4:32 PM
            —Nobody knew Sharapova was using that drug until she got caught…—
            .
            Nobody knew because “that drug” wasn’t banned before 2016!
            And players don’t post pictures & videos of themselves taking pills.

          • did you know she was taking a drug that enchances performance????? NO

            Do you know Djokovic uses CVAS pod? YES.

            Gosh your posts keep begging for explanations.

          • CVAC has not been banned by any sports governing body to date. Perhaps it is not the most ethical of things to do, but it is common knowledge that some of the top players from diff sports have used it. Had this been that big a dilemma, certainly more pressing questions would have been used.

            Thing is, studies keep evolving and lead to new conclusions. Melodium was not a banned substance pre 2000 and I am sure there must have been reasons. i 2006 WADA said something along the lines that CVAS pods are not good for the spirit of the game but they did not ban it and said more research and studies will continue to be studied.

            In my view, it may not be quite an ethical thing to do but if something is not illegal, and people know you use it, then it is kind of okay. Can’t really blame the person using it.

            What if questions are raised in the future regarding stem cell treatment? I am not sure but I think in some places ethical/legal issues have been raised around that treatment too! If 5 years down the road they start questioning it, then? Rafa needed the treatment and it helped him. I am happy and it was perfectly legal. And, it is common knowledge.

          • That’s exactly the point. This is why you CANNOT compare CVAC to drugs! The former’s use is common knowledge in most cases while the latter’s usage is something nobody knew about until the issue surfaced.

          • AT 5:06 PM,
            —2006 WADA said something along the lines that CVAS pods are not good for the spirit of the game—
            ===
            .
            I quote once again.
            ¤¤ WADA ruled the chambers enhance performance and violate “the spirit of sport,” but chose not to add them to the list of banned substances and methods for 2007.
            “It doesn’t mean we approve it,” said D.Pound, WADA head and Canadian IOC delegate. ¤¤
            http://www.cbc.ca/sports/anti-doping-agency-won-t-ban-oxygen-tents-1.589665

          • AT 5:09 PM,
            My point was that it’s ridiculous to say that Sharapova is a bad person because YOU didn’t know what pills (non-banned) she has been taking since 2006.

          • where did I say Sharapova is a bad person because I did not know what pills she had been taking? It is not your day perhaps. Not sure why are you are not getting it.

            the point is to say that CVAC is different from drugs.

            WHy the hell did WADA not ban it then? We should blame THEM! What if ethical questions get raised on stem cell treatment? I won’t raise a single question on rafa’s use of steam cell treatment even then because it was totally legal when he used it to heal his knee and back. I am not an expert on this and not well-read but I have read that in the USA steam cell treatment has received some negative remarks.

          • AT 5:43 PM

            ¤ Stem cell treatment doesn’t enhance performance.
            ¤ Rafa’s doctors have got official acceptance to perform his treatments.

          • LOL!

            -CVAC pod users also have ‘official acceptance’ to use them.

            -the treatment heals some injuries in ways not seen before. SO thankful to the treatment as it finally healed rafa’s knee and saved him from surgery which would have deteriorated his performance.

            -If it is considered unethical in some parts of the USA, then my point holds and there is nothing you have to change that because it is a fact.

            WHAT IF in future they decide to regulate its use? it is a WHAT IF? will someone say rafa’s use was unfair? at least I won’t. No way…

          • AT 5:54 PM,
            ¤ CVAC pod (chamber) enhances performance – according to WADA.
            ¤ Stem cell treatment doesn’t enhance performance.

            To paraphrase you (AT 4:53 PM), gosh your posts keep begging for explanations.

          • You have started posting automated-type posts now….no point responding. You can’t seem to get the reasoning here. There MUST be drugs banned that don’t ENHANCE performance but drastically reduce the risk of muscle deterioration and injuries. They are STILL banned for athletes.

            Piece of advice is to broaden your scope here.

          • AT 7:17 PM
            —You have started posting automated-type posts now….no point responding…—
            ===
            .
            ¤ I have posted comments about performance enhancing things. Your non-responding is the right thing to do. Thanks!
            ¤ The topic of the current article is Sharapova’s performance enhancing drug. Hope that helps.

          • But if you take a few minutes to explore the Website I posted, you’ll see they offer a lot more than Hyperbaric oxygen.

          • ratcliff, thanks. Murray also used it and said he did not feel any better and stopped using it.

          • well, I typed the answer to vamosrafa but my post did not get through for whatever reason…

            anyway, my point was basically that Sharapova used a drug that was allowed…Novak is using partly allowed performance enhancer…the whole point is they were/are both using performance enhancing stuff…

            why blame Sharapova for using a legal drug all these years and not Novak for using partly illegal stuff…

          • I understand your point ,natashao., But, sharapova is not being blamed for using a legal drug all those years.The basis of her case is that she continued to use it when the substance got banned and did not take enough measures to make sure she was taking allowed stuff only. Again, I have not read too much on the case details but I believe these are the basis.

            I am not blaming Maria for using the drug in all those years when it was legal. But, the fact that she continued to use it is not cool.

            The day CVAC pods get banned ,all athletes will stop using it coz it is a known fact that they use the thing!

  46. I would hazard a guess that Sharapova was not tested as frequently as some other players so she probably thought she’d get away with it.

    Reply

  48. This drug is banned in the USA and Maria has been taking it whilst living there so will she be in trouble for that?

    Reply

    • As far as I am aware, this was the first time Nole has spoken publicly on the subject of Sharapova.

      He was off-duty attending a basketball game in LA, feeling pretty mellow by the look of it,, when he was accosted by a reporter for a comment. His reluctant response was:

      “Obviously I feel for her…just hope she gets out of this even stronger…..all I can say……don’t put me on the spot right here’…….embarrassed laugh as he turns away.

      Like Serena the other day he refused to be trapped into making a definitive comment on the subject. He neither condoned nor condemned her which can hardly be described as his wholehearted support.

      Reply

    • That comment has no basis in fact whatsoever. There is no good faith reason to infer or imply that Novak used the drug that Maria did.

      Jumping in with baseless, groundless accusations out of thin air, is not what a reasonable discussion should be about. But it is an opportunity to character assassinate Novak for giving Maria support.

      Reply

      • That’s old news augusta08. Nothing happened to Nole. He is too powerful.I doubt that powerful Nole is subjected to random tests. Armstrong used to get alerted by somebody in the know.
        The erstwhile communist Bloc was notorious for doping in sports and bribing and corruption. Interesting that since ITF strengthened doping tests, the recognizable names in the net are from the communist or Soviet bloc and they are THIN!!! The haters here would have us believe Rafa and Serena are doping because of their muscles. But in an endurance sport like tennis, chances are dopers are taking endurance enhancing drugs which do not cause bulging muscles. Nole’s extraordinary rise in 2011 and his lack of injuries/quick recoveries, his extraordinary endurance in sharp contrast to the retirements of the past must place him under suspicion even if certain posters here claiming to be Rafa fans but actually Nole fans would have us believe otherwise. I wouldn’t be surprised if ALL the top tennis stars are doping. By the ” prisoners’ dilemma” theory, chances are high that that is the case. The erstwhile Communist bloc had expertize in both doping and corruption so chances of players from that area being tempted to dope are very high. It is no coincidence that Troicki, Cilic and Sharapova belong to that bloc.

        Reply

        • Nole might have been using the drug too…who knows…and if it was not forbidden he and anybody else did nothing wrong…except that NOW the will have to play WITHOUT it…unfortunately I must agree that the Eastern bloc does get involved in such suspicious cases more than often…Novak’s name came up in the allegations of fixing matches as we recall…Davidenko for instance was accused at the time…

          Hope they do the testing of the top players more often now…Nole must feel discomfort…if they go ahead and ban the POD I bet Nole’s retirements and health issues will suddenly resurface…

          Reply

      • He was completely out of order making deffamatory allegations on the integrity of all the officials involved in the Troicki affair Bet he’s under strict orders to keep his mouth shut this time round.

        In general the players are sympathetic towards Sharapova but nobody has rushed forward to defend her.

        #There but by the grace of god go I

        Reply

  51. Maria is obviosly lying about not knowing that meldonium was placed on the banned list. Does she want us to believe that a multi millionairess like her and a top athlete has no one in her team entrusted with the task of ensuring that nothing which goes into Maria’s body is on the prohibited list? Poor Maria has to herself scan her emails and scrutinize ingredients of her food and drinks? Are you kidding? I think that either the experts in the team miscalculated for how long meldonium would remain in the system or they thought the chances of her being randomly tested were low and if the low probability event happened they would plead Maria’s health and ignorance and get away with a shortened ban like Troicki. Those who swallowed Troicki and Cilic’s sob stories would no doubt believe Maria’s story that ensuring she doesn’t fall foul of the banned list is entirely her job. She must be spending hours scrutinizing all the ingredients in the food, drinks and medicines she takes to ensure none are in the banned list as she has no one to do this job. Sob ! sob! What a sad tale!

    Reply

  52. Nadal: Sharapova needs to pay
    Rafael Nadal said of Maria Sharapova failing a drug test at the Australian Open: “The sport must be clean. … Sorry for her, but she was negligent and she must pay for it.”

    Bravo Rafa. Nothing mealy-mouthed about that. She doped, she must pay.

    Reply

    • As Hawkeye recogised from the outset, a plea bargain had already been struck before Sharapova made her statement. And from Rafa’s comment one assumes many of the players were aware of this fact. Of course that won’t stop Rafa coming under fire from his detractors for not throwing his cap into the ring and offering his whole hearted support for Maria.

      Reply

    • ed251137 (AT 11:48 AM),
      —And from Rafa’s comment one assumes many of the players were aware of this fact.—
      ===
      .
      HOW did you come to this conslusion?? Rafa answered the question yesterday!

      Reply

  53. In addition:

    “It is difficult to imagine that something like this can happen, but mistakes happen,” he said. “She should be punished.

    “I want to believe it is a mistake for Maria. She didn’t want to do it. But obviously it is negligence. She must pay for it.”

    Sounds just about right. Negligence of this sort should not go unpunished. Would leave a bad precedent. Let’s see what the punishments turns out to be.

    Reply

    • looks like she was afraid she might see the drug’s name on the new list emailed by WADA so did not open it? Or, did she actually open the link and remained silent because she was too much used to having the medicine/drug? OR, she negligently assumed all is well and nothing needs to be done. But she was aware that she had been given Meldonium by her doctor so if her intentions were 100% clear, she should have opened the link to check? OR, was is just a case of pure negligence that she just missed it? Usually at her level, they have people who do these jobs. Given the gravity of the matter, she should have been way more careful.

      Would be good to hear more details on the case. She won’t get away with this I guess. There will be at least a 2-year ban in my view.

      Reply

    • @ vamosrafa 9:34 AM,

      Rafa is right! I appreciate him being honest about this rather than having ambiguous replies like the one from Novak…I hope she gets a two year ban for this…

      Reply

  56. So Rafa in effect is saying what I am saying, that top athletes have a team member/doctor in charge of ensuring the athlete is not in violation. None of the top players can possibly believe that emails updating banned list will remain unopened. But hey what’s new? Troicki, Cilic also sold the same story to us. That they have no one to advise or look into this aspect. They were believed not just by “pious” fans but also by ITF ( no doubt with a little nudge from Nole in Troicki’s case, though in public Nole was warned of indiscipline!!!)

    Reply

  57. http://www.athleticsweekly.com/featured/athletes-petition-to-iaaf-for-repayment-of-prize-money-before-russia-reinstatement-40172/

    “Paula Radcliffe among names on petition urging IAAF to demand money back from Russians

    More than 150 names have been added to a petition urging the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to require that before the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) is reinstated as an IAAF Member, the ARAF must repay prize money and appearance fees received by Russian athletes whose results have subsequently been nullified for doping offences since 2009.”

    WTA players (apart from Serena, who owned Maria) must also do the same against Maria.

    Reply

  60. Murray has been outspoken on the issue of drugs in sport, notes The Times and “unlike players such as Novak Djokovic, Murray showed no sympathy for the 28-year-old Russian”, who announced earlier this week she had failed a test at the Australian Open.

    “If you’re taking performance-enhancing drugs and you fail a drugs test, you have to get suspended,” said the Scot, who competes in the Indian Wells Masters tournament next week.

    Sharapova said she had not realised that meldonium, a heart drug she had been taking for a decade, had been added to the banned list of substances. But Britain’s number one appeared unmoved. “I think taking a prescription drug that you don’t necessarily need, but just because it’s legal, that’s wrong, clearly,” he said. “I read that 55 athletes have failed tests for that substance since 1 January. You just don’t expect high level athletes at the top of many sports to have heart conditions.”

    Addressing the issue of her sponsorship deal with Head, he added: “I think it’s a strange stance given everything that’s happened in the last few days. I personally wouldn’t have responded like that.”

    Even current players appear bemused. Spain’s Rafael Nadal said: “I want to believe it is a mistake for Maria. She didn’t want to do it. But obviously it is negligence. She must pay for it.”

    http://www.theweek.co.uk/70340/sharapova-deserves-to-be-suspended-says-andy-murray

    Reply

  61. For the ITF allegations are Bachelot on Nadal ‘amazing’ and ‘incorrect’
    The International Tennis Federation has issued an official statement in which it rules on the charges of the French former Minister Roselyne Bachelot.

    [​IMG]
    The International Tennis Federation sent an official statement to AS on the situation of Rafa Nadal in which are described as “surprising and incorrect” allegations of Roselyne Bachelot , a former minister of Health and French Sports in the Government of Nicolas Sarkozy, against Spanish tennis player.

    The statement reads verbatim as follows:

    “The accusations of Roselyne Bachelot against Rafael Nadal are not only surprising but also incorrect. All convicts players a violation of the Anti-Doping Tennis Program are publicly announced as required under the rules of the Programme and the World Anti-Doping Code” .

    “In addition, WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) maintains its own independent monitoring of the results of the samples collected players, so that would not only be aware of any attempt to camouflage ( ‘cover up’) or failed deliberate in acting on any positive control, but would also have the right to appeal against any decision, so as to pursue any apparent breach that had occurred in the program “.
    http://tenis.as.com/tenis/2016/03/11/mas_tenis/1457702281_619104.html

    Reply

  62. If I’m being moderated, could you let me know? Maybe it’s my server, not tenngrand. Was simply trying to post this very good German made documentary with is relevant to the Sharapova debate on whether or not Meldonium is a PED.

    Reply

    • It’s not you ratty.

      Samies for me.

      Intermittent success. Must be a site problem.

      If that video is from a few years ago I think I saw it.

      Reply

  64. Glad it’s not just me! Was getting paranoid. Talking doping is a no no in tennis. Not used to it without being moderated or banninized.

    The documentary — it’s from last weekend 3/6/2016. Relevant. Makes me wonder…

    I tried like 10 times or something

    Reply

    • Yep, Rafa and Verdasco on TC.

      Also showing bits of Big Fo (Francis Tiafoe) serving for the 1st set v David Goffin. Crowd is loving it.

      Reply

  66. Rafa played great and just when they came back chasing 8:3 lead of Bryans brothers in the third, Rafa double faults when serving to level at 8:7…Bryans win 10:7 in the third…heartbreaking to see Rafa sucumb to his nerves even in the doubles match…?
    Rafa played some amazing tennis though…

    Reply

    • Sorry guys, it was 8:8 when Rafa doublefaulted giftting brothers the lead…I was so upset that I got the score wrong… ?

      Reply

      • Rafa played so well! Yes, that double fault at 8-8 was terrible. It was again of the same nature .He tried to be a little aggressive but the serve did not have much action on it! I wonder whether this has only to do with nerves because I saw him hit some doubles faults in practice sets too. May be he is trying to be little more aggressive with is second serve but he is not getting the desired racket acceleration. They should at least get some help on serve, that is something I am certain of.

        Nobody seems to be mentioning the terrible forehand misses verdasco had earlier on in the the tie break. He missed two mid-court forehands that were there to be punished.

        The atmosphere was so great though!

        Reply

  67. Posting this here because there is an error message on the IW thread.

    There is a full match replay if Rafa’s doubles match on TennisTV. Com

    Reply

    • Relieved to read it appears there is a site problem and not my wifi (which is a problem at weekends) nor a problem with my computer.

      Reply

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