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Maria Sharapova

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 — meaning 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. — AFP.