Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova hailed the reduction of her two-year doping ban as one of the 'happiest days' of her life, immediately targeting a return to action in April 2017
Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
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Lausanne: Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova hailed the reduction of her two-year doping ban yesterday as one of the "happiest days" of her life, immediately targeting a return to action in April 2017. The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cut to 15 months Sharapova's ban imposed by an independent tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation for testing positive for meldonium.
"I've gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March, when I learned about my suspension, to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April," Sharapova said. Sharapova, one of the biggest names in tennis, said she was itching to get back on court.
"I'm coming back soon and I can't wait!" she said. "In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back. "Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court."
The 29-year-old tested positive for the banned medication meldonium during January's Australian Open, throwing her glittering career — 35 WTA singles titles and more than $36 million in career earnings — into serious jeopardy.
In its verdict, the CAS "found that Ms Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with 'no significant fault', she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate".
Sharapova openly admitted she had been taking meldonium for 10 years to help treat illnesses, a heart issue and a magnesium deficiency. She said it had entirely escaped her attention that the product had been added to the banned substance list published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on January 1, just before the Australian Open.
"I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed," Sharapova said in her facebook post Tuesday.
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