Johannesburg: World number one Serena Williams has praised Maria Sharapova for ‘showing a lot of courage’ in admitting that she failed a drug test at this year’s Australian Open.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion said that she ‘hoped for the best’ for Sharapova, who has been provisionally suspended from the sport by the International Tennis Federation after revealing that she had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium, Sport24 reported.
Following Sharapova’s revelations, Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer and US sportswear maker Nike and German car manufacturers Porsche decided to distance themselves from the former world number one earlier in the day.
The Russian tennis star said that she had been taking the drug since 2006 legally for years for health reasons.
Meldonium was placed on the banned list by the World Anti-Doping Agency from this year. (ANI)