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:

96 Comments on Sharapova announces failed drug test at Australian Open

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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!

  6. 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

  8. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  20. 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

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