Dope-tainted Sharapova might never play again, says Russian Tennis Chief

The situation of Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova is "bad" after she tested positive for the banned substance meldonium and she may never play again, R-Sport news agency quoted Shamil Tarpishchev, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation, as saying on Thursday. 

Sharapova, who said she had been taking meldonium for more than a decade because of health problems but had not used it since Jan. 1, was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in March after announcing she had failed a test at the Australian Open.

"The fact that WADA felt compelled to issue this unusual statement now is proof of how poorly they handled issues relating to meldonium in 2015," Haggerty had said in a statement.

"Given the fact that scores of athletes have tested positive for taking what previously was a legal product, it's clear WADA did not handle this properly last year and they're trying to make up for it now." Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpishchev said Sharapova's ban could be addressed in a meeting with ITF head David Haggerty this month.