An Independent Tribunal appointed under Article 8.1 of the 2016 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme concluded on June 8, 2016 that professional female tennis player Maria Sharapova committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme and as a consequence has been disqualified from competing for two years, commencing January 26, 2016.

The news of the decision was released by the International Tennis Federation.

Prior to the doping scandal, Sharapova was the highest paid woman in tennis for a decade. According to Forbes, Serena Williams stepped into the lead this year.

Sharapova, a 29-year-old player from Russia, was caught doping at the start of 2016 when she provided a urine sample on January 26 after her quarter-final match at the 2016 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia. That sample was sent to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Montreal, Canada for analysis, and was found to contain meldonium, which is a metabolic modulator that is included under section S4 (Hormone and Metabolic Modulators) of the 2016 WADA Prohibited List, and therefore is also prohibited under the Programme.

Two month following in March, Sharapova was charged with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.1 of the Programme (presence of a Prohibited Substance in a Player’s Sample). She promptly admitted that she had committed the Anti-Doping Rule Violation charged, and asked for a hearing before an Independent Tribunal in accordance with Article 8 of the Programme to determine the consequences.

At a two-day hearing on May 18-19, 2016, the Independent Tribunal received evidence and arguments from both parties, and subsequently issued a decision on June 8 determining that (1) Sharapova should serve a period of ineligibility of two years; (2) due to her prompt admission of her violation, that period of ineligibility should be back-dated under Article 10.10.3(b) of the Programme to commence from 26 January 2016 (the date of sample collection) and so should end at midnight on 25 January 2018; and (3) her results at the 2016 Australian Open should be disqualified, with resulting forfeiture of the ranking points and prize money that she won at that event.

The Tennis Anti-Doping Programme applies to all players competing at Grand Slam tournaments and events sanctioned by the ITF, ATP, and WTA. Players are tested for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency and, upon a finding that an Anti-Doping Rule Violation has been committed, sanctions are imposed under the Programme in compliance with the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Code.

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