Maria Sharapova Receives 2-Year Suspension for Doping Violation, Reveals Appeal

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 8, 2016

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The International Tennis Federation announced a two-year suspension for Maria Sharapova on June 8 after she violated the sport's anti-doping policy.

Sharapova, 29, was initially suspended from the sport in March for a failed test at the Australian Open. She admitted to taking the drug meldonium, which she had long used but became a banned substance beginning in 2016. In addition to the ban, she had to forfeit the prize money and rankings points she earned from her quarterfinals appearance in Melbourne.

"It is important at all times for players to be aware of the rules and to follow them. In this case, Maria has taken responsibility for her mistake from the outset. The WTA supports the process that the ITF and Maria have followed," the WTA said in a statement.

An independent three-person panel reviewed the case and could have issued a ban of up to four years. At a two-day hearing on May 18 and 19, the ITF and Sharapova made their arguments.

In a statement released on her Facebook page, Sharapova said the tribunal ruled she did not "intentionally" violate doping rules. She will nonetheless appeal the suspension, citing its length:

While the tribunal concluded correctly that I did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules, I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension. The tribunal, whose members were selected by the ITF, agreed that I did not do anything intentionally wrong, yet they seek to keep me from playing tennis for two years. I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.



On Tuesday, the Associated Press' Steve Wilson reported Sharapova officially appealed her suspension.

If the suspension is upheld, Sharapova will not be eligible to return until January 2018. The CAS may rule in favor of the tribunal's decision or reduce her suspension; however, she will remain out of action while the cas...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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