Sharapova feeling vindicated, empowered after doping ban
RANCHO MIRAGE – Tennis star Maria Sharapova said on Tuesday she is excited about her return to competition next month, feeling vindicated by the reduction of her doping suspension and empowered by her time away.
Russia’s former world number one was initially barred for two years after testing positive at the 2016 Australian Open for meldonium, a medication she had been taking for 10 years within the rules, but that was reclassified as a banned drug.
Sharapova vigorously fought to overturn the ban, saying she had not been properly advised of the official change, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport cut the ban to 15 months and said in its ruling it did not believe she was “an intentional doper”.
Sharapova’s ban will end two days after the Stuttgart grand prix starts on April 24. She has been given a wild card by organizers, who scheduled her first match on the Wednesday in her competitive return.
Some players have bristled at what they feel is preferential treatment for draw card Sharapova, who reigned as the highest earning female athlete in the world for 11 years in a row, according to Forbes.
“For me it’s not OK and I spoke to some other players and nobody is OK with it, but it’s not up to us,” world number four Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia told reporters.
“It’s not about her, but everyone who was doping should start from zero.”
Sharapova, who turns 30 on April 19, kept herself busy during her tennis absence.
She took a class at Harvard Business School in global strategic management, spent another 10 days in London studying leadership, interned at an advertising agency, spent a week shadowing NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and a week with Nike designers besides attending to her Sugarpova candy brand. (