No sport is safe from the terror that is drug testing.
Maria Sharapova is a good tennis player. At 29 years old, she’s a grand slam winner who has been ranked number one in the world at least once in her career and has also scored a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic games. She’s also pretty easy on the eyes.
It’s a shame, then, that we won’t be getting to see her back on the courts anytime soon. In March, Sharapova was provisionally suspended from competing in tennis after announcing she had tested positive for meldonium, a drug that helps to increase blood flow to different parts of the body. The Guardian has reported today that Sharapova has been banned for two years from the sport by “an independent tribunal.”
Sharapova stated after initially revealing her positive test that she was unaware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substance list. The drug had been prescribed to the tennis star in 2006 by her doctor in order to combat multiple health issues.
January 28,2018 marks the day Sharapova’s ban is lifted and she can go back to the sports she played since she was a child. Until then, however, this could be a good chance for the athlete to peruse other endeavors, like being a badass in another sport. Maybe golf, or curling? We’ve bare knuckle boxing could be fun.
Photo (cover): Zikoko
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