Maria Sharapova's Lawyer Seeking Ban Of A Year Or Less

John Haggerty, an attorney for Maria Sharapova, said the five-time major winner will seek between no ban and a year's suspension for her doping offense. Haggerty also said he is engaged in preliminary settlement talks with the ITF that could avoid the need for a hearing. “Something from zero to one is in the range we would like to see,” he said. Sharapova tested positive at the Australian Open for meldonium, which WADA banned on Jan. 1.

Haggerty said one of the mitigating factors he plans to provide the ITF is the drug she took for medical conditions was mildronate, which is a sister drug to meldonium but is not listed by WADA. “It’s not on there,” Haggerty said of the WADA banned substances list. ITF rules lay out a four-year ban for intentionally taking a performance-enhancing drug and two years for doing so unintentionally. ITF rules do allow for lesser bans given mitigating circumstances. If a hearing does occur at the ITF, the earliest it is likely to happen is in May.