DOPING BAN HAS TARNISHED REPUTATION, SAYS SHARAPOVA
Maria Sharapova acknowledges irreparable damage has been done to her reputation as she prepares to make her return from a 15-month doping ban next month at the Stuttgart Open.
The former world No. 1 tested positive for the banned substance meldonium at last year’s Australian Open and initially was prohibited from playing professionally for two years.
Maria Sharapova denied knowing that meldonium had been added to the World AntiDoping Agency’s list of banned substances at the start of 2016, and an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport saw her sanction reduced by nine months.
However, asked if she felt suspicions would linger around her for the remainder of her career, Sharapova told Vogue: “I think if I was trying to hide something, I don’t think I would come out to the world and say I was taking a drug for 10 years.
“If I was trying to take the easy way out, that’s not a very smart thing to do. But the answer to your question is, absolutely.”
When she does return to the WTA circuit, though, the fivetime Grand Slam winner hopes to return quickly to her place among elite players.
Sharapova said: “I have expectations of myself because I know what I’m capable of. Will I have those standards? Of course. Will I have to be patient? It’s not my greatest strength.”