WADA has released a statement regarding Maria Sharapova's doping case.
Sharapova announced at a press conference today that she tested positive to a banned substance during the 2016 Australian Open.
Read the full statement below:
โWADA is aware of the ongoing, and highly publicized, case concerning tennis player, Maria Sharapova. As is our normal process, and in order to protect the integrity of the case, WADA will refrain from commenting further until a decision has been issued by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Following that, WADA will review the reasons for the decision and subsequently decide whether or not to use its independent right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
We can confirm that meldonium was added to the 2016 Prohibited List which took effect on 1 January 2016, having previously been on WADA's monitoring program for the duration of 2015.
Meldonium was added [to the Prohibited List] because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.'ย