Notes

The 28-year-old is facing a lengthy suspension after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January. 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. It has also emerged:

• Sharapova said that she used the drug for ten years, with the manufacturer’s recommended course of treatment being four to six weeks.

• The Russian said that she used the substance for health issues, including early diabetes, although it is not usually prescribed for diabetes treatment.

• The drug’s inventor has boasted of its performance-enhancing properties for athletes.

• A key question remains unresolved over whether Sharapova reported use of meldonium on the medication form when providing her sample.

• The drug had been on Wada’s list of substances being monitored for the past year.

Sharapova, who has seen three leading sponsors suspend contracts with her, has waived her right to have her B-sample tested and a three-person tribunal, headed by a barrister or senior lawyer, will be appointed to rule on the case. It will be at least a month before a hearing takes place.

Her argument that she was unaware that meldonium had been added to the banned list may be diluted, however, when details of the communications from the tennis authorities are revealed.

In December, there were three correspondences from the International Tennis Federation [ITF] and two from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), all containing warnings that meldonium - which is also known as mildronate - was to be banned. Wada had also given notice of the fact as early as September.


The communications included “wallet cards” listing banned substances on December 3, a link to the latest documents posted on the international federation’s website on December 7 and a further notification from the women’s association on December 11. On December 22, players were provided with another link via email - which was referred to by Sharapova in her press conference - and there was a final reminder by the WTA on December 29.

Meldonium’s use by athletes, especially those in eastern Europe, has become commonplace - according to a documentary this week by ARD, the German broadcaster. A 2015 study showed that 724 of 4,316 Russian athletes (17 per cent) had meldonium in their system.

Sharapova admitted to taking the drug - a heart medicine that improves blood flow and is not licensed in the UK or the United States - since 2006 for health problems including sickness, early signs of diabetes and “irregular” results from heart examinations.

However, Grindeks, the company that manufactures meldonium, said the recommended timescale for treatment was a matter of weeks and that it was not prescribed to treat diabetes.

A spokeswoman from Grindeks said via email to The Times: “Treatment course of meldonium may vary from four to six weeks [and] can be repeated twice or thrice a year. It is not to be prescribed to treat diabetes.”

There is also plenty of evidence that meldonium has long been known to boost performance in sport.

Before it was added to Wada’s banned list, Ivars Kalvins, the drug’s inventor, boasted in a scientific journal in Latvia: “Mildronate increases endurance properties and aerobic capabilities of athletes [and] does not provoke any undesired side-effects.”

The ITF said that the Russian had been informed of the positive test on March 2 and she will be provisionally suspended from March 12.

Richard Ings, who was head of the anti-doping programme in men’s tennis from 2001 to 2005, said that the length of the ban would depend on whether Sharapova had registered the use of the drug on the medication form when she provided the sample.

“There are no excuses for not knowing it was on the banned list,” said Ings. “The bottom line will be the doping control form and whether there has been full and honest disclosure of all the medication she was taking.”

Sharapova could theoretically face a four-year ban but senior Wada figures believe that the sanction will be much less, even as little as a year. Jeff Tarango, her former coach, has suggested that it could be four to six months.

Tennis players have been treated comparatively leniently in recent doping cases. Marin Cilic, of Croatia, was given a nine-month ban in 2013 after traces of nikethamide were found - and this was further reduced to four months.

Viktor Troicki, of Serbia, was banned for 18 months, later reduced to 12, after he refused to take a blood test at a tournament in Monte Carlo in 2013, saying that he had a phobia of needles.

In financial terms, Sharapova is already suffering given that she is a superstar who makes more money from sponsorship than prize money. Her sponsors took swift action to suspend deals and even sever their links.

TAG Heuer, the luxury watch brand, said it would not to renew its sponsorship with the 28-year-old, while Nike has suspended its $70 million contract with the five-times grand-slam champion.

Nike has been the target of criticism over its backing for drugs cheats. Last year it awarded a sponsorship deal to Justin Gatlin, the American sprinter who has twice failed doping tests.

Nike was quick out of the blocks to take action on Sharapova - within a few hours of the announcement the sportswear giant said it had suspended the Russian, pending the outcome of the investigation into her positive test.

Porsche, the car manufacturer , said that it would “postpone planned activities” with Sharapova. Evian, the mineral water company, said it was monitoring the case.

The news is another a blow to Russian sport, already reeling from the drugs scandal in athletics that threatens the country’s participation at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s sports minister, told the Tass news agency that he would hold a meeting with the heads of the country’s sports federations over the use of meldonium. He also confirmed that its use has been widespread.

“Unfortunately it is a drug that many athletes were taking. I think there will be more cases,” he said, adding that the scandal would “bring joy to our ‘friends’ ” - an apparent reference to critics in the West, before appearing to blame Sharapova’s entourage.

“Six months ago we informed all federations, athletes and the Russian anti-doping agency that this drug had been banned,” he said. “Trainers, doctors, the heads of sports federations must take responsibility. The most terrible thing is that the sportsperson suffers.

“It’s a shame for Masha [Sharapova]. I hope we will see her again on the court and we are ready to support her.”