Maria Sharapova's clean chit after doping controversy emphasized by tennis insider after Russian's induction into International Tennis Hall of Fame

Following Maria Sharapova's induction into the 2025 Tennis Hall of Fame, journalist Christopher Clarey highlighted the Court of Arbitration for Sport's 2016 verdict, which did not consider the 37-year-old to consume the substance intentionally when she was banned for using meldonium. Sharapova was initially handed a two-year ban, but her suspension was reduced by nine months after the investigation concluded that her use of the drug was due to negligence, not an attempt to gain a competitive advantage.

The former World No. 1, who had been using the product for an extended period based on her doctor's prescription, was addressed in the CAS decision, which stated:

"It was only about the degree of fault that can be imputed to a player for her failure to make sure that the substance contained in a product she had been legally taking over a long period, and for most of the time on the basis of a doctor’s prescription, remained in compliance with the TADP and WADC.

"No question of intent to violate the TADP or WADC was before this Panel: under no circumstances, therefore, can the Player be considered to be an 'intentional doper,'" the statement further read.

On Thursday, Maria Sharapova and American twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan were inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. During her career, Sharapova won 36 titles, including five Grand Slams. The Bryan brothers, who finished the year ranked No. 1 for 10 seasons, achieved a career Golden Slam at the 2012 Olympics and hold records for 123 doubles titles and 18 Grand Slam victories.

Following Sharapova's induction, Christopher Clarey took to X (formerly Twitter) to reiterate the Court of Arbitration for Sport's verdict regarding her case and shared an interview he conducted with her the day she retired in 2020.

“I interviewed Maria Sharapova in NYC for the #NYT the day before her retirement so we could break the story. An extraordinary career & life. As she enters @TennisHalloFame , important to remember that the arbitration panel which reduced her suspension declared “under no circumstances” should she be considered “an intentional doper”," he said.

Maria Sharapova publicly accepted responsibility for taking meldonium

Maria Sharapova at a press conference (Image Source: Getty)

Back in 2016, during Sharapova's doping controversy, she held a press conference to take responsibility for using meldonium. Her decision to come forward helped her efforts to reduce the initial two-year suspension.

In the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision, it stated:

"The Player took a public position acknowledging that she took Meldonium and that she accepted responsibility therefor, and she did so in a very public way, calling a press conference, on her own, that brought worldwide publicity to her case and to the use of Meldonium going forward."

Sharapova admitted that she had been taking meldonium since 2006 due to a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes, but she was unaware that the World Anti-Doping Agency had banned it in January 2016.

"I did fail the test and I take full responsibility for it. For 10 years this medicine was not on WADA's banned list, and I had legally been taking the medicine for the past 10 years. But on January 1, the rules had changed and meldonium had become a prohibited substance, which I had not known," Maria Sharapova said.

The Russian retired from tennis in 2020, with that year's Australian Open being her last tournament. She has concentrated on her sponsorships, businesses, and family life. Sharapova and her fiancé, Alexander Gilkes, welcomed their son, Theodore, in July 2022.