Five-times grand slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova hit out at some media accounts of her doping case that she termed "wrong" in an open letter to her fans on Facebook on Friday. Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January, is facing a suspension of up to four years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and has already lost numerous sponsorships in the aftermath. The former world number one thanked her fans for their "tremendous outpouring of support" before launching into a critique of what she believed were some inaccurate reports. "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," Sharapova wrote. The 28-year-old Russian said she was making no excuses for not knowing about the ban that went into effect on Jan. 1, but said that after the first announcement, other notices were "buried in newsletters, websites, or handouts." "Again, no excuses, but it's wrong to say I was warned five times," said Sharapova, who has said she took the drug for 10 years due to a family history of heart issues and diabetes.
Sumit Nagal lived a dream when he took on one of the greatest players of all time at a packed Arthur Ashe stadium in a US Open first-rounder.
'They could have handled this in a better way. I've observed that when Paes gets selected, Bhupathi is left out and vice versa. This has been happening for last 10-15 years. This is not good for Indian tennis'
Factbox on Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, who beat Romania's Simona Halep 4-6 6-4 6-3 to win the French Open on Saturday and claim her first grand slam title:
The Pakistan Tennis Federation has filed a compensation claim with the International Tennis Federation after losing the right to host three Davis Cup ties due to the security situation in the country.
The Pakistan Tennis Federation will seek compensation from the ITF for making their Davis Cup rubber against Hong Kong an away tie due to the volatile security situation in Karachi.
Australia's tennis federation have requested their Davis Cup tie against India be moved out of the country due to security concerns. The Indian hosts, however, remain confident of staging the May event.
The International Tennis Federation on Friday decided not to suspend Australia from Davis Cup competition for forfeiting their Asia/Oceania Group I tie against India and let them off with a mild punishment -- a fine of US $10,000.
Australia's appeal to shift next month's Asian zonal Davis Cup tie against hosts India out of Chennai over security fears was rejected by the International Tennis Federation on Friday. 'The ITF board of directors has upheld the decision of the Davis Cup committee regarding the Asia/Oceania zone Group I third round tie between India and Australia,' the ruling body said in a statement.
The ITF, in a statement on the Davis Cup website (www.daviscup.com), said, 'By virtue of its decision not to send a team to compete against India, Australia has forfeited the tie. India is declared the winner.'
Australia will not send its Davis Cup team to India for next month's tie because of security concerns, Tennis Australia said on Saturday, knowing the country could now face a year-long ban and substantial fine.TA had appealed against the International Tennis Federation's decision to keep the May 8-10 Asia/Oceania group I tie in Chennai, citing security concerns.The ITF on Friday, however, rejected the appeal and upheld the decision of the Davis Cup committee.
'I spoke to Roger and Rafa a few days ago and we had a conversation about the near future of tennis. How we can contribute to help lower ranked guys who are obviously struggling the most.'
The AITA selection committee, on Tuesday, decided to keep veteran Leander Paes in the five-member playing squad for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Croatia, making Divij Sharan the reserve member.
Already a sporting icon, Osaka's fight for equality has focussed even more attention on her
Career best rank of 168 in singles for Ramkumar
An Indian tennis team will travel to Pakistan after 55 years. The last time they sparred on Pakistan soil was way back in March 1964 in Lahore, where India won 4-0.
The 29-year-old former French Open finalist failed the out-of-competition test in February after a urine sample was found to contain letrozole - a substance used in the treatment of breast cancer which is also on the banned drug list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
American Sofia Kenin counter-punched her way back from a set down against Garbine Muguruza to win her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win in Melbourne on Saturday.
One of Maria Sharapova's biggest sponsors, Nike Inc., said it was suspending ties while the case is being investigated.
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the highest-paid woman in sports, said on Monday that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for 10 years for health issues.
Former India tennis star Vijay Amritraj says the new Davis Cup format will not affect the country much as it is still playing home and away games in Group I and not the World Group matches.
Novak Djokovic announced his resignation as head of the ATP's Player Council and intends to form a new breakaway body to represent athletes -- but his plans have immediately met with stiff resistance from within tennis.
Twenty-times Grand Slam champion Federer has said that he is unlikely to play in the new-look tournament, spearheaded by Barcelona player Pique's investment group Kosmos.
Karan Rastogi's campaign in the US $15,000 ITF event in Kuwait came to a screeching halt on Friday when he conceded his semi-final due to a back problem.
The ITF has made a range of learning resources on its academy platform available for free during the shutdown while the ATP Tour announced an initiative this week that will give fans the chance to bid for sessions with top coaches. Funds raised from the sessions will go to the tour's Coaches Committee to support its members.
'I think it's a great competition but ... I can't change my mind that two world cups (within two months) is not real'
The All India Tennis Association (AITA), along with 10 other national federations (NSFs), was invited by sports secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya for a video conference. AITA secretary general Hironmoy Chatterjee said they were 'extremely disappointed' by the attitude of Julaniya, who 'only talks and does not want to listen'.
Karolina Pliskova lost her cool over a line call and bashed a hole into the umpire's chair with her racket after suffering a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat by Maria Sakkari in the Italian Open second round on Wednesday.
Roger Federer said he trusts the anti-doping procedures in tennis despite rival Novak Djokovic's claim that fellow Serb's Victor Troicki's one-year ban was the result of negligence by the authorities.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said the government will not have any say on whether India should participate in next month's Davis Cup tie in Pakistan as the event is not a bilateral engagement.
From 2022 a new event for under 14s will be staged at the All England Club during the second week of the Championships.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Delhi teenager Yuki Bhambri pulled off a major upset at $ 10,000 ITF men's event by defeating Chinese Davis Cupper Peng Sun in straight sets to storm into the singles quarterfinals in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan beat unseeded Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland to clinch the singles crown in the University of Mumbai ITF women's tournament.
Prakash Amritraj and Karan Rastogi will clash in the final for the third time after contrasting semi-final victories in the Delhi leg of the ITF Futures.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The fourth seed from Uzbekistan won the doubles crown and shocked No 2 seed Yan-Chong Chen of China to enter the final in the University of Mumbai ITF tournament.
Sesil Karatantcheva failed a doping test during the French Open, L'Equipe reported
Sharapova, 29, had called the ITF's original ruling "unfairly harsh" because she had not intentionally violated anti-doping rules.
Karol Beck of Slovakia tested positive for the anabolic agent clenbuterol last September during Slovakia's Davis Cup World Group semi-final against Argentina.
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