The Tennis Thread

[Soapsuds]

I heard that as well. I will be surprised if she gets more than Cilic did.

[Toups]

2-4 years is so excessive.  I've never heard of someone getting suspended that long for a first time drug offence. 

[Soapsuds]

She'll be 30 or 32 if she is suspended that long. I think what will hurt her more is missing out on the Olympics this year besides the majors.

[ChitHappens]

Lawd! I've been weening myself off of Tennis because Queen continues to break my heart.  But my TL is flooded.  

 

So Sugarpimp is a doper? 

[Soapsuds]

What happened to Sugarmama?

[DramatistDreamer]

Well, Cilic appealed his and the time was brought down from his original time for suspension.

 

Sharapova has taken the blame publicly and not requested the B sample to be tested so I don't know whether this is an option in her case.

 

I did just read that the ITF starts with 4 years for intentional, 2 years for unintentional, 1 year for "no significant fault" and 0 years for "no fault".  The last option is completely out since Sharapova has publicly assumed responsibility.  

 

The question is, which of the other 3 options will the ITF apply in her case?

Edited March 8, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Toups]

Wow, I think that's ridiculous. Is that for first time offence and multiple offences? The four major sports in North America aren't even that strict.  

[Soapsuds]

It's for first time offenses. Cilic was a first time offender and he originally had gotten close to 2 years…but was reduced to 7 months after he appealed. 

Edited March 8, 2016 by Soapsuds

[DramatistDreamer]

According to CNBC, Nike has suspended its relationship with Sharapova after her failed drug test.

 

Apparently the drug is not sold in the U.S., Australia and I believe not in Western Europe either (definitely not FDA approved) and is only made in Latvia.  It seemed to have been popular with a number of athletes from the former Soviet Union.

 

And per usual, Jennifer Capriati has taken to twitter to rant.

Edited March 8, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

Wow that was quick! 

What did she have to say?

[DramatistDreamer]

I didn't read them.  Several people told me that she has been ranting on Twiter about how her career was taken for doing far less than some are being accused of now.  Then someone told her that the substance was not banned when Sharapova started taking it a decade ago and it recently became and Capriati then proceeded to ask why.  Although I heard she proceeded to rant further about her own missed opportunities.  She's probably still ranting now. 

[Soapsuds]

Ha….she was caught stealing and wasn't she doing drugs too at the time? All that she did was done intentionally. She has no one to blame but herself. 

Edited March 8, 2016 by Soapsuds

[DramatistDreamer]

Yeah, marijuana.  Capriati is remembering things the way they never were.  When I first discovered these Twitter rants I felt sorry for her but I got a chance to read a few myself and she was espousing some weird and disturbing ideas so I avoid even looking nowadays, I take people's word for it when they claim she's gone off the rails again.

 

One last thing I'll mention and then I'm just going to leave it alone because I'd rather see how this investigation pans out from here on out:

 

A Russian blogger stated that apparently Russian athletes had been warned in October about meldonium and there was a recall across all sports.  In the AP article, some Russian ice dancer did claim that she wouldn't knowingly take a supplement with melodronium as she had been warned against taking it by the Russian Sports Federation, so the blogger's statement does make sense.

[Soapsuds]

Going back to JC. Didn't she retire because she was injured a lot? Before you knew it she was gone from the game. 

[DramatistDreamer]

She had at least two shoulder surgeries and neither helped get her back to professional form.  She was out quite a bit before she announced her retirement, probably she was trying to rehab the shoulder and ultimately called it quits.

 

This NYT article about Sharapova offers a lot more detail about the situation:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/sports/tennis/maria-sharapova-failed-drug-test.html?smid=tw-share

A few Doctors have said they would never prescribe this medication to a young woman of childbearing age.  In one interview that I listened to last night, one Doctor said for an irregular EKG, he would've prescribed Fish Oil, so the explanation does not make sense to him.  Sponsors are currently deserting Sharapova left and right, I must admit, the situation looks sad.