Maria Sharapova "denied reports that she was warned five times that the drug she was taking, meldonium, had been added to the banned list," according to Simon Cambers of the London GUARDIAN.
The Russian admitted that "she failed to open one email" received on Dec. 22. But in a statement on her Facebook page posted on Friday night, the former world No. 1 said that "the reports were inaccurate, clarified how often she took the drug and said she was not willing to pretend to have an injury to keep the news quiet." She said, "A report said that I had been warned five times about the upcoming ban on the medicine I was taking. That is not true and it never happened. That’s a distortion of the actual ‘communications’ which were provided or simply posted on to a webpage. ... The other 'communications?' They were buried in newsletters, websites or handouts."
Sharapova said that she received another email on Dec. 18, entitled "Player News," inside which was a warning "buried deep down." Sharapova: "In order to be aware of this ‘warning,’ you had to open an email with a subject line having nothing to do with anti-doping, click on a webpage, enter a password, enter a username, hunt, click, hunt, click, hunt, click, scroll and read. I guess some in the media can call that a warning. I think most people would call it too hard to find."
Sharapova also said that "the warning contained a different name for the medication she was taking" (GUARDIAN, 3/11).
FIGHTING BACK: The London INDEPENDENT reported the five-time Grand Slam winner also vowed to "fight back" after criticizing elements of the media who "distort, exaggerate and fail to accurately report the facts." It was the Int'l Tennis Federation which alleged she had been sent five email notifications. But in supporting her argument, Sharapova posted a photo of a "wallet card" which was handed out at tournaments after the ban began, saying, "This document had thousands of words on it, many of them technical, in small print. Should I have studied it? Yes. But if you saw this document, you would know what I mean. Again, no excuses, but it’s wrong to say I was warned five times."
Sharapova "also further explained how she had been taking the drug." Reports "suggested that the normal course of treatment for patients on meldonium is four to six weeks."
Sharapova wrote, "That headline has been repeated by many reporters who fail to tell their viewers and readers what the rest of the story says. The story quotes the manufacturer of my medicine as saying: ‘Treatment course can be repeated twice or thrice a year. Only physicians can follow and evaluate patient’s health condition and state whether the patient should use meldonium for a longer period of time.’ That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t take the medicine every day" (INDEPENDENT, 3/12).
'NO DOUBT': In Melbourne, Claire Siracusa wrote French tennis player Kristina Mladenovic has come out in criticism of the provisionally banned Sharapova, saying "all the players are saying she's a cheater." Mladenovic said, "[Sharapova] has no excuse that can defend what she's done. For me there's no doubt. She wasn't really liked. I respected her for her career but she wasn't really nice nor polite, let's be honest." Mladenovic said that "all the other players on tour said the Russian had cheated." She said, "You sure doubt and think that she didn't deserve all she won until now." But Sharapova received some qualified support from Novak Djokovic, when he praised his "courageous" and "brave" friend for taking public responsibility for her positive test. However, he said that "the 28-year-old grand slam champion should face consequences if she was found to have tested positive to a banned substance" (THE AGE, 3/13).
MCENROE: REUTERS reported John McEnroe "finds it hard to believe" that Sharapovawas "unaware she was taking a banned drug that led to her suspension." McEnroe: "Would be hard to believe that no one in her camp, the 25 or 30 people that work for her, or Maria herself had no idea that this happened" (REUTERS, 3/13).
