Tennis legend Maria Sharapova has announced at a press conference this morning that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open, which took place in January.
Sharapova tested positive for Meldonium, an anti-ischemic drug which she says was only formally banned this year.
Sharapova’s press conference was announced earlier, with many speculating that she planned to retire from her unbelievably successful tennis career, where she has been the highest-paid female athlete for 11 years.
I will hold a press conference today @12pm PST, which will be broadcast LIVE on https://t.co/Chxh6xxfZY. For more info, visit my website.
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) March 7, 2016
“I know many of you thought I would be announcing my retirement today,” she told reporters. “But if I was ever to announce my retirement it would probably not be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with a fairly ugly carpet.”
She did not indicate in her press conference what kind of penalties this might incur or how long she will be away from the game.
Source: Sky News
Image: Getty Images / Kevork Djansezian
