The fact that Maria Sharapova, one of the most beautiful sportswomen in the world had tested positive to a banned drug-meldonium, is no more news. What is news is the amount of money she stands to lose if a lengthy ban is given to her.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), put meldonium on the list of banned drugs late last year and came into force on Jan. 1. Maria is the 7th person to tested positive to the drug in less than 3 months. Others are; Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov, Russian figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova, Ethiopia-born athletes Endeshaw Negesse and Abeba Aregawi, and Ukraine biathletes Olga Abramova and Artem Tyshchenko.
Meldonium is used to treat chest pain and heart attacks among other conditions, but some researchers have linked it to increased athletic performance and endurance. It is listed by WADA among its prohibited metabolic modulators, along with insulin, and some researchers say it can also help recovery. It is not approved in the United States but is available in Russia, Latvia and other countries in that region.
Maris Sharapova is a 5-times Grand Slam winner. According to Forbes, the 28 years old earned $29.7 million last year. She was world’s highest-paid female athlete last year for the 11th consecutive year, and Forbes put her off-court career earnings at more than $200 million.
Since her admission of being tested positive to meldonium, a number of her major sponsors have dumped her like garbage and she stand to lose a lot financially. Porsche, a division of Volkswagen, said it was suspending Sharapova’s role as its brand ambassador, Tag Heuer, a unit of French luxury goods group LVMH has suspended negotiations and has decided not to renew her contract and Nike. Nike, the world’s largest sportswear maker which has been associated with Maria since she was aged 11, has also suspended her contract. Another sponsor, cosmetics maker Avon Products Inc (AVP.N), is yet to take a decision..
Sharapova is the most prominent tennis player to test positive for a banned substance in recent years and the biggest name since Martina Hingis was banned in 2008 after recording a positive test for a metabolite of cocaine The International Tennis Federation’s anti-doping program calls for a four-year suspension for a positive test.
