Sharapova To Miss Rio Olympics After CAS Extend Ruling
Maria Sharapova [/caption]
Former world number one, Maria Sharapova will miss next month’s Rio Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday postponed the 29-year-old’s appeal against a two-year doping ban until September.
The five-time Grand Slam champion was given a two-year suspension in June after testing positive for the banned medication meldonium during January’s Australian Open.
Meldonium, also known as mildronate, became a banned substance on 1 January, but Sharapova claimed she had been using it since 2006 for health issues
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The Russian appealed to CAS, but both the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Sharapova need more time to prepare their cases, as well as scheduling conflicts.
According to CAS, its decision will not be delivered until September 19, a month after the Olympics.
The Rio Olympics start on 5 August.
“Maria Sharapova and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have agreed to defer the Cas decision until September 2016,” said a statement.
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“A decision is expected to be issued by 19 September 2016.”
