Sharapova had her sentence reduced and returned to competition in April 2017 3
Maria Sharapova tested positive for meldonium while attending the Australian Open earlier this year.
However, according to the latest ruling of CAS, which handled Sharapova’s appeal, her sentence was reduced to 15 months.
`I count every day until I can return,` Sharapova said after learning the CAS verdict.
Masha has recently appeared at many events and is the center of attention, but she is always unhappy because she has to leave her passion for playing tennis.
Meldonium, a medicinal substance also known as mildronate, found in cardiovascular medicine, has just been included in the list of prohibited uses in sports competitions by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from January 1.
Sharapova admitted to using this substance since 2006 for health reasons, but emphasized that she `did not intentionally use stimulants`.
With those arguments, Sharapova, in her appeal submitted to CAS, said that she could not accept `severe injustice` such as a two-year ban from the ITF.
After review, the CAS panel concluded that Sharapova’s case was `not that of an athlete intentionally cheating`, but also added that the Russian tennis player `bears serious blame for her violation`.
Sharapova first won a Grand Slam since 2004, when she was crowned at Wimbledon at the age of 17. She then won more titles at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open to have a complete collection of four Grand Slam titles.
Sharapova’s penalty is from January 26, 2016.
Sharapova can return to play in time at Roland Garros – the second Grand Slam of the year – 2017.
`In March, I had one of the worst days when I learned about the ban. Today is one of the happiest days of my life, when I knew I could return to play from
`I have learned many lessons from this case, and I hope the ITF has too. CAS concluded that ‘they disagree with many details of the ITF disciplinary committee’s conclusions’ against me. I accept responsibility
`Anyway, it’s over. I just hope the ITF and related anti-doping departments in tennis research and learn the procedures of many other Sports Federations, so that no more players have to suffer.`
