Former world number one, Maria Sharapova, has revealed that she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open.
The 28-year-old Russian tested positive for meldonium, which she has been taking since 2006 for health issues.
Sharapova, who have won five Grand Slam titles, admits she does not know what sanctions she will face.
“I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” she said in a press conference on Monday evening.
“For the past 10 years I have been taking a medicine called mildronate by my doctor, my family doctor, and a few days ago after I received the letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.
“It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on Wada’s [World Anti-Doping Agency] banned list and I had been legally taking that medicine for the past 10 years.
“But on 1 January the rules had changed and meldonium became a prohibited substance, which I had not known.”
She added: “I received an email on 22 December from Wada about the changes happening to the banned list and you can see prohibited items, and I didn’t click on that link.”
Sharapova, who was defeated by Serena Williams at the Australian Open, apologized to her fans and expressed hope she will return to tennis sometime in the future.
“I made a huge mistake,” she said.
“I have let my fans down, and let the sport down that I have been playing since the age of four that I love so deeply.
“I know that with this I face consequences and I don’t want to end my career this way. I really hope to be given another chance to play this game.”
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