champion's demise will hit tennis like a freight train, it is a disaster for the women's game


Maria Sharapova's demise will hit tennis like a freight train, and it will be of little consolation to the authorities that anti-doping measures have landed a big name.

The fact that she was allowed to make her own announcement, to take control of the narrative, is an illustration of the how game is so deferential to its leading stars. That is one of the sport's problems.

The evolution of professional tennis in the past 20 years has seen a shift of emphasis from fine hand skills to a premium on strength and endurance.

Maria Sharapova, pictured, has announced she failed a drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open when she tested positive for meldonium

The 28-year-old announced the shock news at a pre-arranged press conference held at a Los Angeles hotel on Monday

The five-times Grand Slam champion addressed the media at Monday's conference where her failed drugs test was revealed

Technique and touch are still necessities, but developments in racket and string technology, and slower court surfaces, have seen the physical side become more and more important.

Therefore the temptation to gain an edge in that area has never been more acute, and tennis always looked vulnerable to a big name being caught out.

It has only just had to commission an independent review of match-fixing after the storm that hit it in Melbourne following the publication of a BBC-Buzzfeed report.

At the time some of us maintained that doping was more of a clear and present danger to the sport's integrity — certainly at the highest level — than the corrupt behaviour of players at lower tier events in a small percentage of matches.

Sharapova crashed out of the Australian Open in January, pictured, after being defeated by Serena Williams in the quarter-finals

The 28-year-old Russian tennis player's failed drugs test is a disaster for women's tennis, with one of its biggest drawcards forever tainted

Reading a written statement to a host of journalists at the press conference, she said she took 'full responsibility' for the test failure

WHAT IS MELDONIUM? Meldonium (file picture above) was a medicine Sharapova took for 10 years but it became a prohibited substance on January 1 Meldonium, also known by the commercial name Mildronate, was added to the new banned list of drugs last year, which came into place on January 1, 2016. The drug was added to the list because the World Anti-Doping Agency said there 'evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.' WADA had been observing Meldonium in 2015, adding it to its 'monitoring programme' to determine its effects on athletic performance. It is used medically to treat ischemia, or a lack of blood flow. It can be used as a metabolic enhancer to increase endurance through greater blood flow. The Institute of Biochemistry - Center for Preventive Doping Research, German Sport University Cologne said of the drug: 'Anti-ischemic drug Mildronate demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions.' Sharapova said she has been taking the drug since 2006 to aid in a variety of health problems. On December 22 of last year, WADA sent out an email indicating what drugs would be banned starting in 2016 and Sharapova conceded that she received but did not read that email. Advertisement

Roger Federer and Andy Murray have been at the forefront in recent years of calling for more to be done to deter those who might be tempted to dope. They obviously see a threat as well.

Speak to people inside the game and you do not find many who think tennis has a problem on the scale as other sports.

But as one seasoned coach told me recently, there are many who will push up against the boundaries of legality in the seeking of an advantage.

This is a disaster for women's tennis, with one of its biggest drawcards forever tainted.

A question remains. Why would a known control freak like Sharapova take something outlawed in Melbourne, surely aware that testing is so vigorous at the Grand Slams? She may be many things. Stupid is not among them.

The 28-year-old leaves Monday's press conference and the ITF then announced that she will be provisionally suspended from March 12

During her announcement in Los Angeles, Sharapova said: 'I take responsibility for my professionalism in my job and I made a big mistake'

Sharapova's latest Grand Slam success came in the 2014 French Open, where she defeated Romanian Simona Halep in the final

Sharapova: 'I let the sport down. I let my fans down'

Maria Sharapova dropped a bombshell on Monday night when she admitted testing positive for a banned substance at January's Australian Open.

The five-times Grand Slam champion made a statement at a Los Angeles hotel confessing she had been caught out by the tennis anti-doping operation. The International Tennis Federation then announced that she will be provisionally suspended from March 12.

The world's highest-earning sportswoman said she had been found to have taken meldonium, which was prohibited from January 1 this year. The revelation is catastrophic news for her, the sport and women's tennis in particular.

'I had legally been taking this for 10 years,' said Sharapova. 'I take responsibility for my professionalism in my job and I made a big mistake. I know there will be consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope I will be given another chance to play tennis again. I can't blame anyone but myself. I have let my fans down.'

Speculation was rife that the 2004 Wimbledon champion (pictured with her trophy) called the press conference to announce her retirement

Sharapova, then 17 years old, falls to her knees in celebration (left) and poses with trophy after beating Serena Williams in the 2004 final

She followed up on her Wimbledon success by beating Williams to win the WTA Tour Finals in 2004, the last time she defeated her rival

DRUGS IN TENNIS: FOUR OTHER STARS WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR BANNED SUBSTANCES ANDRE AGASSI Agassi was considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time but failed a drugs test in 1997, testing positive for crystal methamphetamine. He was let off by the ATP with a warning after he said he had accidently sipped his assistant's spiked drink but later admitted, in his autobiography after retirement, that claim was a lie. Following that revelation in 2009, the ATP said it could not comment on Agassi's admission because it had withdrawn its doping case against him. GREG RUSEDSKI Great Britain's No 2 behind Tim Henman at the time, Rusedski tested positive for nandrolone in 2003 and was facing the prospect of a two-year ban. He was later cleared after arguing that the high levels shown in his system would have been mistakenly given to him by ATP trainers in supplements. A tribunal statement said: 'The ATP could have - and should have - taken steps to notify its players in a 'meaningful' and 'direct' way of the reasons for its decision to cease distributing the electrolyte tablets.' MARTINA HINGIS Five-time Grand Slam winner Hingis tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon in 2007 and was banned for two years despite claiming she had never used the drug. The Swiss retired from the sport for a second time, partly because of the failed test at SW19. Hingis appealed, arguing that the likely cause was contamination rather than intentional ingestion, but that was quashed and she also had to repay more than £60,000 in prize money. RICHARD GASQUET Frenchman Gasquet was hit with a provisional 12-month ban after testing positive for cocaine in March 2009. An International Tennis Federation panel accepted his explanation that the substance got into his system after kissing an unidentified woman in a Miami nightclub but the appeal went to a tribunal. The Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared Gasquet of any wrongdoing and said that 'no more than a grain of salt' was recorded in the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist's sample. Advertisement

Sharapova lost in the quarter-final to Serena Williams at the Australian Open and will have to pay back her prize money of £209,000 from the event, although that will be of little consequence to the multi-millionaire.

A statement from the ITF said Sharapova provided a sample on January 26 and that she was charged with an anti-doping violation on March 2 after the sample tested positive for meldonium.

The statement added: 'As meldonium is a non-specified substance under the WADA list of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited Methods, Ms Sharapova will be provisionally suspended with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case.'

Sharapova conceded that she had received a notification from the International Tennis Federation on December 22 that the substance was being outlawed. She admitted that she did not follow an information link that was provided.

The 28-year-old faces a ban of several years, having been informed of the finding 'a few days ago'. She said this was unrelated to her withdrawal from the Indian Wells event this week, as she is injured anyway.

'It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list and I had legally been taking the medicine for the past 10 years,' insisted the Russian. 'But on January 1 the rules had changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance which I had not known.'

Sharapova poses with the US Open trophy, her second Grand Slam success, after defeating Justine Henin in the 2006 final

The Russian proudly displays her US Open trophy outside Arthur Ashe Stadium following her success in September 2006

Sharapova claimed that she was initially given it in 2006 by her 'family doctor' due to health issues such as a magnesium deficiency and a genetic disposition towards diabetes. However, the substance which is mainly available in Eastern Europe, is said to have become a drug of choice for Russian athletes implicated in cheating in other sports.

This may be the end for Sharapova, who has won all four Grand Slams and transcended her sport without ever becoming the dominant tennis player of her era.

There was one set of rankings where she consistently came out on top: those produced by the likes of Forbes magazine that measure the overall earnings of female sports stars.

The combination of her glamorous looks, strong personality and natural business acumen, married with a huge tennis talent, helped make her a massive success as much off the court as on it. Those days now surely look over.

Sharapova's official career prize money stands just above £25million. But her personal fortune is many times that, thanks to her voracious appetite for maximising her worth. Part of that has been the careful nurturing of her public image.

In recent years she has become most synonymous with her candy line Sugarpova, shamelessly ignoring the health lobby to successfully promote a high-end brand of sweets.

Sharapova speaks at press conference at 2008 Australian Open (left) before claiming Grand Slam glory, the third of her career (right)

The 28-year-old kisses the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen after claiming the first of her two French Open titles in 2012, her fourth Grand Slam win

Sharapova (left) holds her silver medal after losing to Williams (right) in the women's singles final at the 2012 London Olympics

SHARAPOVA'S TITLES Australian Open 2008 French Open 2012, 2014 Wimbledon 2004 US Open 2006 WTA Tour Finals 2004 Olympic silver medal 2012 Advertisement

She once even discussed trying to enter the US Open under the assumed pseudonym of Sugarpova as part of a somewhat dubious marketing exercise.

None of her fortune, estimated to be well north of £100m, would have been possible without her endeavours on the court, which took root when she moved from Russia to the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida, aged nine. That involved a two-year separation from her mother, so it was hardly surprising that she developed a phenomenally tough persona that was to serve her so well.

She rose to international prominence at 17 when she upset Serena Williams to unexpectedly win the 2004 Wimbledon title and one of the mysteries of her career was that she never got past the semi-finals thereafter.

Sharapova was to beat the American again that summer, in her now hometown of Los Angeles where Monday's announcement was made. But she has never beaten her since.

The utter dominance Williams has exercised over her in compiling a 19-2 record has come close to defining the Russian's career and denied the women's game the authentic rivalry it has craved in recent years.

Sharapova's official career prize money stands not far short of £25 million but her personal fortune is thought to be many times that

In recent years Sharapova, pictured left and right, has become most synonymous with her candy line Sugarpova

Sharapova blows a kiss during the launch of her brand Sugarpova at Crown Entertainment Complex on January 11, 2013

MARIA SHARAPOVA: CAREER TIMELINE 2001 Played the first event of her career 2002 Played in her first two WTA Tour events 2003 Won first WTA titles at the Japan Open in Tokyo and Quebec City, plus debuted in all four Grand Slams 2004 Won her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, beating Serena Williams in the final 2006 Won US Open title, her second Grand Slam, by beating Justine Henin in final 2008 Won the Australian Open title 2012 Successful season saw French Open win complete full set of four majors 2014 Won her fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open 2016 Sharapova announced she tested positive for a banned substance, meldonium, at the 2016 Australian Open Advertisement

One reason Serena is said to play so well against her, according to one close to the American, is a resentment that those with endorsement dollars in their pocket have always beaten a far more determined path to the tall European blonde.

It has helped focus the mind, as has a strong mutual dislike of each other, which was fuelled in part by being attracted to the same man — ATP Tour heart-throb Grigor Dimitrov. Sharapova was to win that one, at least.

Williams has been far from alone in disliking the statuesque Russian and many fans have found it hard to take to her because of her incessant grunt when hitting the ball. She could be torturously slow between points and there was also the practice of turning her back on her opponent between every point to focus on the next one.

Sharapova was a steady winner after the unlikely triumph at SW19, claiming the US Open two years later and the Australian Open in 2008. She has won 39 tour titles in all, interspersed by absences through injury.

The Russian tennis star poses with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy after securing French Open victory in 2014, her latest Grand Slam

Sharapova pictured in happier times with the French Open Trophy by the Eiffel Tower in Paris after winning the 2014 tournament

Sharapova of Russia poses in front of the Eiffel Tower following her success in the 2014 French Open final

Tall and not a silky mover, her biggest career achievement was probably to twice win the French Open. She mastered the art of moving on the clay sufficiently to take the title in 2012 and 2014, despite having once described her navigation of the red dirt as being like a 'cow on ice'.

These kind of one-liners flow easily from Sharapova, who is often charming and funny as well as being the owner of a sharp tongue. The 'Ice Queen' was, for example, asked at the 2012 Australian Open to respond to criticism of her grunting by vanquished opponent Agnieszka Radwanska and replied with exquisite timing: 'Isn't she back in Poland already?'

Sharapova has never sought to be part of any locker room sisterhood, describing it as a lonely place. 'I think just because you're in the same sport it doesn't mean that you have to be friends with everyone,' she once said.

However, she has given plenty to charity and always inspired loyalty among her tight team. Something has gone seriously wrong for the fallen superstar.

Williams (left) celebrates at the net after winning the women's single Wimbledon semi-final match against Sharapova in July, 2015

A dejected Sharapova is followed by a jubilant Williams as the American once again inflicts another defeat on the Russian tennis player

The Russian shakes hands with legendary Serena Williams after losing to the American in the quarter-finals of this year's Australian Open

Sharapova, pictured competing at this year's Australian Open, will have to pay back her prize money of £209,000 from the event

But the former Wimbledon champion now faces an uncertain future in tennis following Monday's shock announcement

Positive meldonium tests are on the rise, and fast - by Matt Lawton

Meldonium, the drug for which Maria Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open, has been regarded for some time within athletics as a concern.

Not least because, rather like the blood-boosting drug EPO, it is a drug capable of increasing the endurance capabilities, as well as increasing physical capabilities.

The only difference is that, until two months ago, it was not on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list, having been added on January 1.

Abeba Aregawi, the 2013 women's 1500m champion and an athlete who placed fifth in the 2012 Olympic 1500m final — a race growing in notoriety given the number of entrants who have now tested positive — was in the headlines only last week for failing a drugs test for the substance.

Another recent meldonium positive was 2015 Tokyo marathon winner Endeshaw Negesse. Indeed the drug is being linked with a number of positives now emerging in Ethiopian distance running.

Sharapova revealed she tested positive for banned substance meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open during Monday's press conference

Abeba Aregawia, an Ethiopian-born Swedish athlete, was in the headlines only last week for failing a drugs test for the substance

The 2013 women's 1500m champion and an athlete who placed fifth in the 2012 Olympic 1500m final pictured above in May 2014

Reports claim Russian ice dancer Ekaterina Bobrova has also tested positive for meldonium, as have Ukrainian biathletes Olga Abramova and Artem Tyshchenko.

Sharapova claims she has been on the medication for health reasons for more than 10 years.

According to medical journals it is most widely used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, angina and chronic heart failure. It is also reported to be beneficial for the treatment of seizures and alcohol intoxication.

Interestingly the drug — which is manufactured in Latvia and used in Lithuania and Russia — has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA, where Russian-born Sharapova resides.

WADA employs a validation period when researching a drug, and during that time they repeatedly detected meldonium in the urine samples of athletes they tested.

Another recent meldonium positive was 2015 Tokyo marathon winner Endeshaw Negesse (pictured at the event in February of last year)