Maria Sharapova fairytale stained after positive drug test

Another sporting fairytale is punctured with Maria Sharapova testing positive to a performance-enhancing drug.

Another great sporting fairytale has been punctured with Maria Sharapova testing positive to a performance-enhancing drug at this year’s Australian Open.

The wealthiest woman in tennis faces a potentially career-ending four-year ban after confirming a positive test to the recently banned drug meldonium in a sample taken after her loss to Serena Williams in a quarter-final in Melbourne in January.

It tarnishes a tale that began when her parents fled Chernobyl concerned about the effects of the nuclear disaster just before her birth. At six, Sharapova was spotted at a talent camp run by tennis legend Martina Navratilova in Moscow, paving the way for the near penniless family to move to Florida to train at the famous academy run by Nick Bollettieri.

The Russian built an empire from that stroke of fortune, claiming a Wimbledon title aged 17 en route to five grand slam titles and the world No 1 ranking.

She parlayed her marketability into a staggering fortune off the court — Forbes magazine estimated she made approximately $40 million in 2015 — by representing corporations globally. But after the press conference in Los Angeles yesterday — in which Sharapova accepted responsibility but blamed her positive test on an oversight — her major sponsor Nike suspended their relationship.

The 28-year-old signed a deal with Nike worth almost $64m in 2010 but the sporting apparel giant yesterday said it was “saddened and surprised” by the news and would monitor the situation.

Last night luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer announced it would cease negotiations around renewing their partnership. Later, carmaker Porsche said in a statement it had “chosen to postpone planned activities” with Sharapova “until further details are released and we can analyse the situation”.

The positive test by the 2008 champion further taints an Australian Open that was already controversial given the match-fixing bombshell that dropped on the opening morning in January.

She is the second Australian Open singles champion to record a doping violation, with 1998 men’s winner Petr Korda later banned for steroid use.

Sharapova forfeits $375,000 in prizemoney and rankings points from the Australian Open, but the players she defeated — among them Belinda Bencic — will ponder an opportunity lost to a rival who tested positive to a performance-enhancing drug.

Tennis Australia said it was surprised by the development and noted Sharapova had said she was prepared to face the consequences of what she described as a “huge mistake”.

the 28-year-old revealed she had been taking meldonium, also known as mildronate, to treat a magnesium deficiency for the past decade and did not realise it had been placed on a banned list on January 1. The medication is not approved in any circumstances in the US, where she lives.

Sharapova also said she received the medication in part because of concerns about a history of diabetes in her family.

“I made a huge mistake and I let my fans down,” she said.

“I had been taking this medicine for the past 10 years but on January 1 this became a prohibited substance, which I did not know.

“Throughout my long career, I have been very open and honest about many things and I take great responsibility and professionalism in my job every single day and I made a huge mistake.”

After monitoring meldonium in 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency moved the drug on to the banned list after indications athletes were abusing the medication, with traces showing up in almost 20 per cent of samples taken from Russian athletes, according to a recent study. It is believed 26 athletes in all disciplines have tested positive to the drug since the ban.

The drug increases endurance properties and aerobic capacity, aids the functional parameters of heart activity, assists with recovery and protects against stress, among other benefits. The world No 7 has battled a string of significant injuries over the past decade, with shoulder injuries problematic through 2007 to 2010. After recovering from another shoulder problem in 2013, she claimed a second French Open a year later but had been troubled by a forearm injury leading to yesterday’s bombshell.

Navratilova used social media yesterday to say she hoped the positive result was an honest mistake. Regardless of intent, it is an astonishing oversight by a player renowned for being meticulous.

Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev defended Sharapova, saying a potential ban was “nonsense”.

WTA Tour chief executive Steve Simon said while he had “always known her to be a woman of great integrity”, it was every athlete’s responsibility to know what they were taking.