Martina Navratilova is hoping for a positive outcome to the Maria Sharapova doping drama which has kept the popular Russian from tennis for months. All-time great Navratilova, winner of 18 grand slam titles, has been in Sharapova’s corner since the Russian was provisionally banned for testing positive for meldonium, only declared an outlaw substance since January.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has now said their medical staff could not actually determine how long the heart and circulation medicine actually stayed in the body, which could allow athletes back.
Navratilova is hoping that Sharapova will also come up fortunate once her case is reviewed. Reports indicate that a hearing was held in recent days, though no confirmation was forthcoming from secretive WADA in the International Tennis Federation.
“When you have such a superstar missing from your sport, it is a loss,” Navratilova said on BT Sport. “There is a hole, as there would be if Roger Federer wasn’t playing. But let’s hope that she can get back on the tour. Some 200 athletes tested positive for the drug. Something’s amiss with the communication between the drug people and athletes.”