Russian professional tennis player Maria Sharapova has been suspended for two years for an anti-doping rule violation, the International Tennis Federation announced Wednesday. Her "period of ineligibility" will be backdated to Jan. 26, 2016, the day Sharapova tested positive for the heart disease drug, meldonium, at the Australian Open.
Sharapova responded to the announcement almost immediately with a public statement saying that she would not accept the "unfairly harsh" suspension and that she planned to appeal the decision. She has maintained that she did not intentionally seek the blood flow-boosting drug for performance enhancement, but for health issues:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
June 25 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday's cartoons include war on a loop, the New York City mayoral race, and one almighty F-bomb
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speakIn The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Thunder beat Pacers to clinch NBA FinalsSpeed Read Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals
-
MLB lifts ban on Pete Rose, other dead playersspeed read 16 deceased players banned for gambling and other scandals can now be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey finalSpeed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIXspeed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess championSpeed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fansSpeed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World SeriesSpeed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA DraftSpeed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
