MOSCOW — The fallout from Maria Sharapova’s failed drug test has ensnared her native Russia as it becomes clear that the banned substance found in her system is creating wider problems for Russian sports.
Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, announced Monday that she had tested positive for meldonium during the Australian Open in January, shocking the tennis world and prompting a swift response by a number of her sponsors.
Few in the Los Angeles hotel conference room with Sharapova on Monday probably recognized the name of the drug, but in Russia, meldonium, also known as mildronate, was a common treatment for athletes before it was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list in January.