Media playback is not supported on this device Tennis made example of me - Sharapova

Tennis players will not be able to plead ignorance if they test positive for banned substances, says the International Tennis Federation.

Maria Sharapova had a two-year ban for taking meldonium cut to 15 months after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ruled she was not told about a change in the drug's status.

The Russian tested positive less than a month after meldonium was banned.

The ITF said "appropriate steps were taken to publicise any changes".

However, it said it would continue to review its processes for "communicating changes to the prohibited list to players with the aim of ensuring that no player can claim that they had not been fully informed".

Sharapova can return to action on 26 April next year because her suspension has been backdated to the date of her first positive test.

The former world number one tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open on 26 January and again an out-of-competition test on 2 February.

She said she had been taking the drug since 2006 for health reasons and was unaware it had been added to World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada) banned list as she knew it only by the name mildronate.

However, Cas said Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, was at fault for not giving her agent "adequate instructions" about Wada's prohibited list and "failing to supervise and control" her agent.

Media playback is not supported on this device Sharapova reveals failed drug test

Sharapova's lawyer, John Haggerty, called the Cas decision "a stunning repudiation of the ITF".

He also said the ITF's decision had been exposed as "pure fiction".

He added: "Not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, it's a night and day difference."

Johan Eliasch, chief executive of racquet manufacturer Head, which has stood by Sharapova during her suspension, said "justice had been served" and called the original ITF decision "wholly unfair".

Eliasch said "there is no doubt Maria broke a rule" but he claims there are inconsistencies in the anti-doping regime and changes are needed.

"This calls into question the revelations about certain Olympic athletes who were granted therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for substances that could most certainly be considered performance enhancing and have been proven to be performance enhancing under significant clinical testing," added Eliasch.

"Meldonium has yet to be proven under any significant clinical testing to have any performance enhancing benefits."

Eliasch called for "a wholesale comprehensive review and change to the anti-doping system in identifying performance enhancing drugs".

Former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade said it was "inexcusable" for Sharapova to find herself in this situation.

However, speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, the Briton added: "She's 100% right. The ITF should be more clear.

"The players need to be much more attentive and you have got to realise that, even if you are trying everything to make yourself feel better, do better, be stronger, that it has to be within the rules."

Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon men's champion, said the 15-month ban was "just a little bit on the lenient side", although he believed Sharapova did not know the drug was banned.

He also accepted that Sharapova had a "fair point" when it came to the ITF.

But the Australian added: "There is no doubt her image has been tarnished. Her reputation will never quite be the same."

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

"The crux of the matter is that Cas decided it was reasonable for Sharapova to delegate her anti-doping duties to Max Eisenbud and the IMG agency, even if on this occasion those duties were not exercised with remotely enough care.

"In the past three years, both Marin Cilic and Viktor Troicki have also successfully argued less blame should be laid at their door.

"Cas has repeatedly set a player's bar of responsibility lower than the ITF think it should be - and as a result there must be a concern some players may in future take anti-doping less seriously than they should."</s>LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Maria Sharapova’s doping ban was reduced from two years to 15 months on Tuesday, meaning the Russian tennis star can come back in April and return to Grand Slam play at the French Open.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year suspension imposed by the International Tennis Federation.

The CAS panel found that Sharapova “bore some degree of fault” for the positive test, saying a 15-month sanction was “appropriate.”

The ban took effect on Jan. 26 and was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she will be eligible to return nearly a year earlier.

“I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement.

“In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back,” she added. “Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.”

Steve Simon, CEO of the WTA tour, welcomed the ruling.

“We are pleased that the process is now at completion and can look forward to seeing Maria back on court in 2017,” he said.

An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but that she bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test.

The panel also said the case “inevitably led to the conclusion” that she took the substance “for the purpose of enhancing her performance.”

Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at the Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams.

Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016.

The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2.

The 29-year-old Sharapova missed this year’s French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug, typically used for heart conditions, by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She cited a bout of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency.

Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.

More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1.</s>LONDON — Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after her two-year doping ban was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday by a sports court that found the Russian star did not bear “significant fault” for her positive drug test.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year penalty imposed by the International Tennis Federation.

In a 28-page ruling , the CAS panel found that Sharapova bore “some degree of fault” but “less than significant fault” in the case that has sidelined one of the world’s most prominent and wealthy female athletes.

“The panel has determined, under the totality of the circumstances, that a sanction of 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault,” the three-man arbitration body ruled.

While Sharapova did commit a doping violation, “under no circumstances ... can the player be considered to be an ’intentional doper,”’ the panel said.

Sharapova’s ban, which took effect on Jan. 26, was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she can return on April 26, 2017, a month ahead of the French Open, a Grand Slam tournament she has won twice.

“I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement.

“In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back,” she added. “Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.”

The doping suspension kept the 29-year-old Sharapova out of this year’s French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She will also miss the 2017 Australian Open in January.

“We are pleased that the process is now at completion and can look forward to seeing Maria back on court in 2017,” he said.

Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at last year’s Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams.

But Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016.

The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2.

Sharapova’s lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesday’s ruling a “stunning repudiation” of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban.

“The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the ITF,” Haggerty said in a conference call. “As we demonstrated before CAS, not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, it’s a night and day difference.”

Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug, typically used for heart conditions, by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She said she took the drug for regular bouts of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency.

An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. The ITF panel also said the case “inevitably led to the conclusion” that she took the substance “for the purpose of enhancing her performance.”

Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.

More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1.

A hearing on Sharapova’s appeal was held in New York on Sept. 7-8. The player and her legal team argued that she bore no significant fault or negligence and her ban should be reduced to “time served,” or about eight months.

“I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well,” Sharapova said. “I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.”</s>The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russian tennis star will be able to return to competition in April, in time for the French Open.

The highest court in sports has cut Maria Sharapova’s two-year doping ban to 15 months.

The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russian tennis star will be able to return to competition in April, in time for the French Open.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January and received a two-year ban from the International Tennis Federation.

She appealed to CAS in June.

The arbitration panel says she “bore some degree of fault” for the positive test “for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate.”</s>LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The highest court in sports has cut Maria Sharapova’s two-year doping ban to 15 months.

The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russian tennis star will be able to return to competition in April, in time for the French Open.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January and received a two-year ban from the International Tennis Federation.

She appealed to CAS in June.

The arbitration panel says she “bore some degree of fault” for the positive test “for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate.”

Her ban took effect on Jan. 26.</s>When All England Club committee members sit down in eight months’ time to decide which players will receive wild cards into Wimbledon next summer, one prominent name is likely to feature in their discussions.

In most other circumstances the offer of a wild card to a former champion and world No 1 would be all but a foregone conclusion. However, will Wimbledon – or any of the other Grand Slam tournaments for that matter - want to give such support to Maria Sharapova, who remains a drugs offender despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to reduce her International Tennis Federation ban from two years to 15 months?

Sharapova, who tested positive for Meldonium at this year’s Australian Open, can return to competition next April, but in order to gain direct entry into the Grand Slam events she would need to be ranked in the world’s top 104 six weeks before the start of each tournament.

The rankings are based on points accumulated during the previous 12 months, so Sharapova, who will be 30 by the time she returns, will be starting from zero. She will be hard pressed to secure enough ranking points even to secure a place in the US Open at the end of next summer.

Sharapova, who has won all four Grand Slam titles, has been one of the world’s most high-profile sportswomen for more than 10 years. With Serena Williams surely approaching the end of her career and a line of succession at the top unclear, the temptation might be to welcome back Sharapova with open arms, but the sport should be wary about how it handles the return of the 2004 Wimbledon champion.

Judged by the reactions to the CAS decision of both Sharapova and some of those around her, you might have guessed that the Russian had actually been cleared of drug-taking. Sharapova called it “one of my happiest days”, while Johan Eliasch, the chairman of her racket manufacturer and sponsor, Head, issued a statement in which he said the company would like to “congratulate” the player on the news.

Was such language appropriate given the circumstances? While the CAS ruling will have made uncomfortable reading for the ITF, which was said to have failed to give adequate warning to players that Meldonium was being added to the sport’s list of banned substances in 2016, it also made clear that Sharapova bore “some degree of fault”. Her ban for a doping violation remains in place and it is only the length of her suspension that has been changed.

Sharapova told the original ITF tribunal that she had first been prescribed Meldonium (or more specifically the trade product Mildronate) in 2006 for a number of medical issues. The drug was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list at the start of this year because of suspicions that it was being used by some athletes to enhance performance.

CAS nevertheless ruled that Sharapova could not be regarded as an “intentional doper”, on the basis that she had been prescribed the drug – before it was banned – for medical reasons. However, according to CAS she “bore some degree of fault”, having failed to supervise the work of her agent, Max Eisenbud, whom she had entrusted with ensuring that her medication was within the rules.

The secretive nature of Sharapova’s medical regime was revealed at the ITF’s hearing earlier this year, when it emerged that Eisenbud was the only member of her support team who knew she had been taking Meldonium.

Sharapova also failed to disclose that she was using the drug - even when it was not banned - when completing drug-testers’ forms. Sharapova said she thought she had to declare only those items she had taken every day in the previous seven days; at Wimbledon last summer she had used the drugs six times in the previous seven days.

The ITF tribunal said there had been a lack of medical justification for Sharapova’s use of Meldonium and concluded that she must have been taking the drug “for the purpose of enhancing her performance”.

While the CAS ruling clearly rejects that conclusion, cynics might still question Sharapova’s actions. Given that she insisted she was using Meldonium for sound medical reasons, why did she not disclose her use of it to anyone other than Eisenbud?

John Haggerty, the head of Sharapova’s legal team, said the CAS judgement was “a stunning repudiation of the ITF”. There can be no doubt that the sport’s governing body needs to take a long look at its anti-doping regime. This is the third time in the last four years that CAS has made significant reductions to drugs bans imposed on players, having cut the suspensions on Marin Cilic, who took a glucose supplement which contained a banned substance, and Viktor Troicki, who refused to take a blood test.

Both Cilic and Troicki have made successful returns to competition and nobody will be working harder on her tennis in the months ahead than Sharapova, whose dedication to her sport has always been exemplary. Nevertheless, a return to the very top will be a tall order. Some tournaments will no doubt offer support in the form of wild cards, but whether that help is forthcoming at the highest level is another matter.

However, Steve Simon, the head of the Women’s Tennis Association, expects the French Open to be among a number events which will grant her wild cards. “I would be very surprised if there are too many tournaments that wouldn’t extend her that opportunity,” he said.</s>Maria Sharapova has told fans she is "counting the days" until she returns to tennis next spring after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her two-year doping ban to just 15 months.

The 29-year-old Russian tested positive for the heart-boosting drug meldonium in January and was then sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation in June.

But CAS, sport's highest court, sliced nine months off her ban in what her lawyer John Haggerty described as a "stunning repudiation of the ITF".

In a statement posted on her social media accounts, Sharapova said: "Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.

"I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.

"But I also learned how much better other federations were at notifying their athletes of the rule change, especially in eastern Europe where Mildronate (its trade name) is commonly taken by millions of people.

"Now that this process is over, I hope the ITF and other relevant tennis anti-doping authorities will study what these other federations did, so that no other tennis player will have to go through what I went through."

The result is undoubtedly a victory for the world's highest-earning female athlete but it is also a defeat for the ITF and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

As both Haggerty and Sharapova pointed out, the three-man panel of CAS experts said it did "not agree with many of the conclusions of the (ITF) tribunal" and the federation has already seen the court reduce recent doping bans for Marin Cilic and Viktor Troicki. The ITF was also chastised by the panel for not properly informing players of changes to WADA's banned list.

Sharapova's lawyers had asked for an immediate reinstatement but deep down they will know the nine-month reduction is the most they could have expected as she did not meet all the criteria for a "no significant fault" reduction of 50 per cent.

CAS said in a statement: "The panel found that Ms Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with 'no significant fault', she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate."

Sharapova's hopes of complete vindication were holed from the moment her agent Max Eisenbud admitted they failed to check the banned list.

Meldonium was added to the list on January 1, having been on WADA's monitoring list for all of 2015, and athletes and their entourages were warned several times by email that it was about to be prohibited - emails Sharapova did not read.

There was a hint of censure from the panel for Sharapova in that she did not mention her use of meldonium and two other over-the-counter heart treatments on her doping control forms, but her legal team argued she did not do so because she did not take these products every day and did not see the need to list them as they were legal.

Her lawyers also tried to argue that meldonium's very presence on the banned list is a matter of dispute as there is little evidence of its performance-enhancing qualities. CAS did not rule on this but the debate will continue for WADA.

Sharapova, a former world number one, may need to rapidly accumulate ranking points to qualify for the French Open and Wimbledon, unless she is handed wild cards.

Her first event could be the Prague Open, which begins on May 1, the first Monday after her suspension ends, and tournament director Petra Cernoskova told Press Association Sport they would love to have her.

In an email, Cernoskova said: "Great!!!! Yes we are very interested!"</s>Maria Sharapova has had her doping ban reduced from two years to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The 29-year-old tested positive for the heart-boosting drug meldonium in January at the Australian Open and was given a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in June.

But CAS, sport’s highest court, announced it has reduced that by nine months, meaning the five-time grand slam winner will be eligible to play again on April 26, 2017, four weeks before the French Open.

Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>></s>(CNN) Maria Sharapova always knew her drugs ban would not be the way her tennis career would end.

The five-time grand slam champion will return to the sport in April 2017 after serving a 15-month suspension for testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova was initially banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the sanction by nine months, saying she bore "no significant fault or negligence."

The panel concluded that while she did commit a doping violation, she was not an "intentional doper."

"I knew this was never the way I going to finish my career and I was going to do it on my terms... I never doubted that," Sharapova told CNN.

The 29-year-old Russian added: "I know who I am and I know how I've played the sport since I was a young girl, with integrity, I've never taken the easy way out, I'm one of the biggest fighters in the game.

"I love what I do and I will continue to keep doing it and forming with my legacy."

An independent panel appointed by the ITF ruled Sharapova hadn't used meldonium as a vehicle for cheating but stated the former world No. 1 was "the sole author of her misfortune" and handed out the two-year ban.

However, Sharapova's legal team argued to CAS that she simply failed to read an email that stated meldonium would be added to the banned list. Her IMG agent Max Eisenbud also failed to check, it said.

Sharapova's lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesday's ruling a ''stunning repudiation'' of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban.

The International Tennis Federation told CNN in a statement Wednesday: "We have reviewed, and will continue to review, our processes for communicating changes to the Prohibited List to players with the aim of ensuring that no player can claim that they had not been fully informed."

The comment drew an adverse reaction on social media, but Head chief executive Johan Eliasch stood by the sentiment.

"In this case there is absolutely no evidence that meldonium, which is the substance Maria took, is actually a performance enhancer as highlighted by the fact there was no clinical testing performed by Wada which is weird, to say the least," Sweden's Eliasch told CNN.

"No-one likes cheating in sport and that should be eradicated -- people who do that should face very severe consequences -- but in this case it is so abundantly clear it's not about cheating, it is an honest mistake."

Eliasch suggested Sharapova's treatment could be part of an anti-Russian reaction.

"I would also like to add apparently the substance was banned because of the prevalence of meldonium use by eastern European athletes. Maybe this has a bit of an element of Russia bashing. I don't think politics and sport should be mixed up," he said.

WADA is yet to respond to CNN's request for comment on Eliasch's allegation.</s>London (AP) — Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after her two-year doping ban was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday by a sports court that found the Russian star bore no “significant fault” for her positive drug test and did not intend to cheat.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at the Australian Open in January.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year penalty imposed by the International Tennis Federation.

In a 28-page ruling , the CAS panel found that Sharapova bore “some degree of fault” but “less than significant fault” in the case that has sidelined one of the world’s most prominent and wealthy female athletes.

“The panel has determined, under the totality of the circumstances, that a sanction of 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault,” the three-man arbitration body ruled.

While Sharapova did commit a doping violation, “under no circumstances … can the player be considered to be an ‘intentional doper,'” the panel said.

Sharapova’s ban, which took effect on Jan. 26, was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she can return on April 26, 2017, a month ahead of the French Open, a Grand Slam tournament she has won twice.

“I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April,” Sharapova said in a statement.

“In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back,” she added. “Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.”

The doping suspension kept the 29-year-old Sharapova out of this year’s French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She will also miss the 2017 Australian Open in January.

“Maria is absolutely one of the stars of the game, so she’s missed when she’s not available to play,” WTA CEO Steve Simon told The Associated Press. “We’re very much looking forward to seeing her come back to the court next spring.”

Simon said Sharapova, who will have to rebuild her ranking from scratch, is entitled to “unlimited” wild cards based on her record. He expects her to be granted wild cards as soon as she is eligible, including for the French Open.

“I would be very surprised if there are too many tournaments that wouldn’t extend her that opportunity,” Simon said in a telephone interview. “I think she’ll be able to work her way back onto the tour.”

Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at last year’s Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams. The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2.

Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016.

Sharapova’s lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesday’s ruling a “stunning repudiation” of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban.

“The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the ITF,” Haggerty said in a conference call. “As we demonstrated before CAS, not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, it’s a night and day difference.”

WADA acknowledged that CAS “fully scrutinized all available information and evidence” in the case and said it abides by the ruling.

Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She said she took the drug for regular bouts of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency.

An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test. The ITF panel also said the case “inevitably led to the conclusion” that she took the substance “for the purpose of enhancing her performance.”

Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.

More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1.

A hearing on Sharapova’s appeal was held in New York on Sept. 7-8. The player and her legal team argued that she bore no significant fault or negligence and her ban should be reduced to “time served,” or about eight months.

“I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well,” Sharapova said. “I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.”

Head, Sharapova’s racket supplier, hailed the CAS ruling as “justice being served.”

“We are very proud to have stood by Maria for the right reasons throughout these difficult and testing times,” Head CEO Johan Eliasch said, claiming it was “wholly unfair” that that she had been banned at all.
In an appeals review, the International Tennis Federation states that tennis players will not be able to plead ignorance if they test positive for banned substances. The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduces Maria Sharapova's two-year ban to 15 months. She tested positive for meldonium.