Maria Sharapova in Russian Olympic team despite meldonium ban
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Maria Sharapova will represent Russia in women’s singles at the Rio Olympics, Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev said, according to Reuters.
Sharapova will be one of four Russians sent to Rio for women’s singles.
“We will include Sharapova in the team, which we need to announce by 6 June,” Tarpishchev said. “Whether she competes or not should be decided by the end of the first week of Roland Garros.”
Sharapova, 29, was provisionally suspended from competition after testing positive for the banned substance Meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Meldonium was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency on Jan. 1 and has since seen a flurry of positive tests by Russian athletes.
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Sharapova took silver at the 2012 Olympics in London after losing the gold-medal match to Serena Williams.
