Former world number one Martina Hingis, who retired from tennis in November after testing positive for cocaine, was banned for two years on Friday after an independent tribunal confirmed the doping offence. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said in a statement that the 27-year-old Swiss would also forfeit the ranking points resulting from last year's Wimbledon championships and $129,481 in prize money.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Jannik Sinner retained his Australian Open title with an emphatic 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev on Sunday
'I find, in all this matter, a very unfair treatment... I don't know if I will be able to find the strength and the desire to play tennis again, after all this'
Following badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei's provisional ban, Rediff.com brings you ten top sports persons who gave in to drugs - one of the mighty perils that has affected modern sporting culture.
Rediff.com takes a look at players who tested positive for use of banned substances over the years.
The Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) said on Monday four athletes had tested positive at the Russian Winter Indoor Athletics Championships in February.
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).
The doping suspension of Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic has reportedly been reduced from nine months to four months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), making him eligible to return to playing from October 26 this year.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) carried out a search at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala last month and seized containers of the substance from the athlete's room, its director general Navin Agarwal told Reuters by telephone.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Maria Sharapova will miss next month's Rio Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday decided to defer its decision on the Russian multiple grand slam champion's appeal against a two-year doping ban until September. Sharapova was seeking to have her ban, which was imposed on her by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in June, wiped out or reduced and a decision was initially expected to be announced by July 18.
Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev expects Maria Sharapova to represent her country at this year's Olympics in Brazil despite being provisionally suspended from the game after testing positive for a banned substance.
Rafael Nadal is seeking 100,000 euros ($118,000) in damages from former French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot after she accused the Spanish tennis legend of a dope test cover-up.
Former World No 1 Maria Sharapova is expected to face a disciplinary hearing over a drug violation in June.
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.
How will Russian athletes be cleared to compete at Paris 2024?
Simona Halep is unsure if she will play again if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) does not uphold her appeal against a four-year doping suspension, the Romanian former world number one has said.
'If you have an IQ higher than room temperature you should stop (using it). There is a test for it and you'll be bounced' 'The monitoring of substances is undertaken by WADA, and so tennis was not aware of the prevalence of meldonium use in 2015 (or before), prior to its addition to the Prohibited List'
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has been invited to play at the Madrid Open in May, which takes place less than two weeks after her 15-month doping ban expires, tournament organisers said 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.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova will compete at the Birmingham Classic grasscourt event in the lead-up to Wimbledon, Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) announced.
Maria Sharapova will appeal a two-year ban for doping imposed by the International Tennis Federation on Wednesday.
Russian sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova claimed her third title of the year by beating seventh-seeded Australian Daria Gavrilova in the final of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Sunday.
British player Dan Evans has been provisionally suspended after admitting on Friday that he had failed a doping test for cocaine at the Barcelona Open in April.
Widening its net, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has, for the first time ever, collected samples from close to 20 tennis players competing at the National Tennis Championships at DLTA Complex, in New Delhi.
"Simona Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian tennis player, has been provisionally suspended under Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP)," the body said in a statement.
She should win her place thanks to good results, says Radwanska
It would be perfectly safe for Serena Williams to continue with rigorous training throughout pregnancy, but how quickly the 35-year-old would return to tournament tennis is uncertain.
Sharapova, 29, had called the ITF's original ruling "unfairly harsh" because she had not intentionally violated anti-doping rules.
Tennis is going through 'tricky' times amid the swirling 'rumours' of doping and betting, concedes Novak Djokovic but the World No.1 says he would not question the sport's integrity till the time concrete evidence is presented to prove wrongdoing.
The court said no hearing date had been fixed yet and no further information would be provided for the moment.
Sharapova, making her return to top-flight tennis after serving a doping ban, defeated Romanian Halep 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to move into the 2nd round of the final major of the year.
Jannik Sinner will hope to block out a rocking home crowd on Sunday when he faces Taylor Fritz in the US Open final at Flushing Meadows, where the 12th seed will be bidding to become the first American man in 21 years to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Match-fixing has become increasingly pervasive in recent years across a number of sports.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova will make her first Grand Slam appearance in over 18 months after she was awarded a main-draw wildcard for the upcoming US Open, the tennis tournament's organisers confirmed on Tuesday.
The world No. 1 said the players he plays with are clean.
Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic has been banned for nine months after testing positive for the stimulant nikethamide, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has said.
