Sharapova tested positive for the controversial banned medication meldonium during January’s Australian Open.
“An Independent Tribunal appointed under Article 8.1 of the 2016 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (the “Programme”) has found that Maria Sharapova committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme and as a consequence has disqualified the affected results and imposed a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 26 January 2016,” said a statement on the ITF website.
The five-time grand slam champion will miss the Olympic Games in Rio this summer while the earliest grand slam she could next compete in will be the French Open in 2018.
Sharapova said she will appeal the two-year doping ban handed down to her by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for doping and which threatens to end her career.
“While the tribunal concluded correctly that I did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules, I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension,” Sharapova wrote on her Facebook page.
“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.”
In a statement issued on her Facebook page, Maria Sharapova has said she will “immediately appeal the suspension portion” to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
