Lausanne - Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova hailed the
reduction of her two-year doping ban on Tuesday as one of the "happiest
days" of her life, immediately targeting a return to action in April 2017.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cut Sharapova's ban
to 15 months saying she was not an "intentional doper", after the
29-year-old tested positive for the banned medication meldonium during
January's Australian Open - throwing her glittering, money-spinning career
into serious jeopardy.
"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," said Sharapova, who
has racked up 35 WTA singles titles and more than $36 million in career
earnings.
An April return - the ban is backdated to the positive test
in January this year - means she would in theory be able to compete at the
French Open in May-June next year.
Sharapova, whose ferocity on court, business acumen and
glamorous looks have all combined to make her a marketing juggernaut, was hit
with a two-year ban by an independent tribunal appointed by the International
Tennis Federation (ITF).
Reducing the ban after she appealed, the Lausanne-based 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".
In the panel's more detailed, formal decision, it said
significantly: "Under no circumstances... can the player be considered to
be an 'intentional doper'."
Sharapova openly admitted she had been taking meldonium for
10 years to help treat illnesses, a heart issue and a magnesium deficiency.
She always maintained that 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, before going on to hit out at the ITF.
"But I also learned how much better other (sports)
Federations were at notifying their athletes of the rule change, especially in
Eastern Europe, where Mildronate (the trade name of meldonium) is commonly
taken by millions of people."
Sharapova added: "Now that this process is over, I hope
the ITF and other relevant tennis anti-doping authorities will study what these
other Federations did so that no other tennis player will have to go through
what I went through."
Sharapova, who off the court has enjoyed successful ventures
such as her "Sugarpova" line of candy and whose sponsors include
Nike, helping her amass a fortune estimated at $200 million, 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."
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told TASS news agency:
"I'm very happy for Maria, although I think that CAS should have fully
lifted her suspension for a drug like meldonium."
Sharapova was intially prescribed meldonium a year after
winning Wimbledon as a 17-year-old by a Russian doctor in Moscow to boost her
immune system.
She burst onto the tennis scene by stealing hearts and
winning that title at Wimbledon in 2004 before going on to clinch the US Open
in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.
Nike, which had initially suspended its relationship with
the Russian, has said it would stick by Sharapova and her tennis racquet
manufacturer and another sponsor, Head, congratulated her on Tuesday.
"We are very proud to have stood by Maria for the right
reasons throughout these difficult and testing times," said Head chairman
Johan Eliasch.
Alexander Zhukov, president of Russia's Olympic Committee, said that he hopes Sharapova will be able to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, after missing out on the August Rio Games due to her suspension.