The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has denied allegations from Maria Sharapova that the hearing into her doping violation was "not neutral"
Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Lausanne: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has denied allegations from Maria Sharapova that the hearing into her doping violation was "not neutral".
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Sharapova made the claims after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her ban from two years to 15 months. The 29-year-old former Wimbledon champion tested positive for the heart drug meldonium in January and was then sanctioned by the ITF in June.
In a statement, the ITF defended its position. "The ITF did not 'try to ban Ms Sharapova for four years'. The ITF took the position that it is the independent tribunal's responsibility to determine what the appropriate sanction should be," the statement read.
"This included the decision as to whether Ms Sharapova met the requirements set out in the tennis anti-doping programme — which are the same as those in the WADA code — for a reduction from the default four-year suspension for the use of a non-specified substance such as meldonium. The members of the independent tribunal, which consisted of a barrister as chairman and medical and scientific experts as co-members, are appointed by the ITF."