LONDON — Former world number one Maria Sharapova has only herself to blame for testing positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Dick Pound said on Wednesday.
The Russian stunned the sporting world on Monday when she said she had failed a test for meldonium, a drug available in eastern Europe to treat some heart conditions but which has been proven to enhance aerobic endurance.
Five-times grand slam champion Sharapova, the world's highest-earning sportswoman who raked in $29.7 million last year, according to Forbes magazine, said she had taken the drug, which was only added to WADA's banned list on Jan.