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.
Maria Sharapova will attend an International Tennis Federation anti-doping hearing in London on Wednesday, British media reported, with the Russian facing a possible ban of up to four years for failing a drugs test at the Australian Open.
Belgian tennis star Yanina Wickmayer says she has no time for drugs cheats and scant regard for the tennis officials in her own country who banned her on a drugs technicality.
US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season, starts Monday, August 28, at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Rafael Nadal has asked the International Tennis Federation to publish the results of his drug tests following an accusation of doping by a former French cabinet minister.
Still shaking off the rust from a 15-month doping ban and a string of nagging injuries, the 30-year-old Sharapova needed all her skill, determination and two hours and 44 minutes to snatch victory in front of a packed Arthur Ashe stadium.
Maria Sharapova's lawyer blasted WADA chief Craig Reedie for making remarks about the five-times grand slam champion at a conference in London on Monday and said the Russian tennis player was owed an apology.
On Sunday the Ukrainian Tennis Federation urged the sport's governing body the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to immediately expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation and ban Russia from team and individual tournaments. Also, athletes from Ukraine and other nations have called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend Russia and Belarus and ban their athletes from events immediately.
'We really hope that Sharapova will still be allowed to take part in the Olympic Games.'
With no Russians, few stars and the sport engulfed in a doping crisis the world indoor athletics championships begin this week with officials holding their breath and eager to put the spotlight back on the track.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Croatia's Marin Cilic swept past Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to win the U.S. Open on Monday and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the year's final Grand Slam.
Russia's Yulia Efimova faces a life ban after the breaststroke specialist tested positive for meldonium, with her temporary suspension confirmed by the All-Russian Swimming Federation (ARSF) on Thursday.
A resurgent Marin Cilic blasted his way by sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Thursday to become the first Croatian to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals since his coach Goran Ivanisevic in 1996.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
The 36-year-old has been practising hard on the grass and few would bet against her becoming the first mother to win the title since Evonne Cawley 38 years ago.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
The Kremlin's spokesman said on Wednesday that a failed drug test by Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova should not be "projected onto" the whole of Russian sport.
'Sharapova has been a US resident since early in her career, which does bring in a question of how or why she is using a drug that is not licensed there'
Security worries could create a tense atmosphere at the French Open this year after a bomb attack on a British concert hall killed 22 people, French tennis player Lucas Pouille said.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, said on Tuesday he hopes this year's Rio Olympics can help heal a sports world hit by recent doping and corruption cases.
One of Maria Sharapova's biggest sponsors, Nike Inc., said it was suspending ties while the case is being investigated.
The world number one had arrived in Tokyo aiming to become the first man to win all four majors and an Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. But that quest came to an end after he was beaten by fifth-ranked German Alexander Zverev in Friday's semi-final.
According to sources, Sania's mother Naseema had rung up AITA Life President and ITF Vice President Anil Khanna on Thursday morning asking him to look into the reports that accuses Venus Williams to taking drugs at the Rio Games.
Bulgarian triple jumper Gabriela Petrova had her doping suspension lifted by the IAAF on Monday, less than a week after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced an amnesty for athletes who had tested positive for meldonium before March 1.
'We are trying passionately to protect those clean athletes who are going to Rio 2016'
With speculation rife that Rio Olympics silver medallist Venus Williams was allegedly allowed to use prohibited substance under Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) clause, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza on Friday rubbished reports suggesting that she has demanded the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to raise the matter with the appropriate authorities.
In its report WADA was scornful of the ATP's inconsistent disciplinary process covering the seven cases.
Maria Sharapova's claycourt season got off to a poor start on Tuesday as she lost in three sets to Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Frisday.
Angelique Kerber is the world number one in women's tennis yet it remains a title she has yet to grow accustomed to after her meteoric rise to the summit.
Maria Sharapova has offered her congratulations to pregnant rival Serena Williams.
On the men's side, the fields have already been divided into two ATP 250 tournaments.
Frenchman Richard Gasquet has been cleared over a positive cocaine test after sport's highest court accepted that he was probably contaminated inadvertently by kissing a woman in a nightclub.
All 11 Russian boxers who qualified for the Rio Olympics have been given the all clear to compete at the Games, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said on Thursday.
Marin Cilic cited a knee injury at Wimbledon this year to hide the fact he had failed a dope test, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has revealed after handing the Croatian a nine-month suspension.
The International Judo Federation -- which lists Russian President Vladimir Putin as its honorary president -- will allow the sport's Russian squad to participate in the Olympics, its head told Reuters on Tuesday.
