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LOS ANGELES: Maria Sharapova on Monday announced that she has tested positive for meldonium, which was added to the 2016 Prohibited List which took effect on 1 January 2016, having previously been on WADA’s monitoring programme for the duration of 2015.<\/p>\n
Sharapova told reporters that she received a letter from the ITF after the Australian Open notifying her of the failed drug test.<\/p>\n
Sharapova said she had failed the test and took full responsibility for it. “For the past 10 years, I have been given a medicine called Mildronate by my family doctor, and a few days ago after I received the ITF letter, I found out that it also has another name of Meldonium, which I did not know. It’s very important for you to understand that for 10 years, this medicine was not on WADA’s ban list, and I had been legally taking the medicine for the past 10 years,” she said, adding that she was prescribed the medication for health issues dating back to 2006, including magnesium deficiency, an irregular heartbeat, and a family history of diabetes.<\/p>\n
“I know that with this, I face consequences, and I don’t want to end my career this way and I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game,” said the former No.1. <\/p>\n
Sharapova said she does not know what the consequences will be yet. “I just received the letter a few days ago and I will be working with the ITF,” Sharapova said.<\/p>\n