adminMARIA SHARAPOVA has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) after being banned from tennis for two years for using a prohibited drug.
Sharapova, who tested positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open, was last week suspended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The 29-year-old, a five-time Grand Slam winner, said in her appeal her ban should be “eliminated” or reduced.
Cas said it would rule on the Russian’s case by July 18.
A statement from Sharapova’s lawyer said the ITF’s tribunal reflected the player “did not intend to violate the rules”.
It added she was given an “unfairly harsh suspension because she is such a famous athlete and they wanted to make an example out of her”.
Sharapova says she has been taking meldonium, a heart disease drug, since 2006 for health issues. It became a banned substance on January 1, 2016.
She has admitted she continued taking the substance past that date, saying she was unaware it had been added to the banned list as she knew it by another name — mildronate.
The ITF tribunal ruling said Sharapova tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition test on February 2, as well as in the aftermath of her Australian Open quarter-final defeat by Serena Williams on January 26.
It treated both results as a single anti-doping violation, with Sharapova’s ban backdated to January 26.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said it would “review the decision, including its reasoning” before deciding whether to appeal. —BBC Sport
derick.khumalo