Maria Sharapova told in the documentary El_Punto, in #Vamos de Movistar, his story from positive for doping in 2016 after having been administered meldonium. The winner of five Grand Slam offered a personal and intimate vision of one of the moments that marked her career. In the documentary, the cameras accompanied the athlete's fifteen months of suspension, accompanied by personal videos and unpublished material.
On March 7, 2016, the extenista announced her positive for consumption of meldonium. The Russian press conference went around the world, and affected Sharapova. “After the appearance I deleted all the social networks from my phone, to protect myself from opinions and judgments and to stay sane. I have never worried about what people think of me, but suddenly, with what happened, I did start to care. It was very unpleasant to feel so small. My mother spent weeks sleeping with me so that she was accompanied. I had to take control and know that I had screwed up. “, he said of those turbulent days.
Sharapova recounted how her first contacts with the substance were, which finally brought her career to a halt. “As a young man my health suffered. My father sought a doctor in Russia. Although we lived in the United States, he was safer talking to a Russian doctor, although that doctor had no experience with athletes. He made me a list of medicines that I could take, and the problems that I started having since 2006 he said he could take 'mildronate', that in Russia it is taken without a prescription, as if it were aspirin “, he told about his beginnings with meldonium.
The substance itself was legal for much of the Russian's career, until it was banned in January 2016, fact that Sharapova did not find out in time. “They always tested me a lot between 2006 and 2015, and nothing ever happened. In January 2016 it became illegal. Other federations warned other athletes about the meldonium and that it was banned, but not me “, bill. “I received an email from the International Tennis Federation (ITF). He was talking about doping, and He mentioned something about a medicine called meldonium. I went to the dictionary to look it up, because I did not know that substance, but then I read 'mildronate' and I did know exactly what it was, “he stressed about how he realized its irregularity.
Despite this, Sharapova also wanted to make it clear that she never hid her consumption of this substance, and that she did so for medical and not sports reasons. “The ITF insisted that I concealed that I was taking 'meldonium', and it is not, because I took something legal for many years. I want to be respected, I did not ask to be allowed to play the next day. My team and I had become accustomed to drinking something that improved my health but not my performance. I fought for what I consider my right and my voice. After reading that report that reduced my sentence, I felt free. I did not hide that I was taking meldonium “, said the Russian.
One of the most striking moments of the #Vamos report was when Sharapova directly blamed her agent at the time, Max Eisenbud, for the positive and sanction of the player. “If there are several people on a team, each one is dedicated to his field. I left working with that doctor in 2013 because I wanted a more natural approach. I kept taking three substances that he had told me to take several years ago, including the ' mildronate '. LI told my agent to check the list of banned substances at the end of the year in 2015. But Max had personal problems and he didn't check it. It was his mistake not to do it “, he said flatly.
After fifteen months without stepping on the slopes due to the sanction, Sharapova was never the same again. He only won one more WTA tournament and his best Grand Slam result was the quarterfinals at Roland Garros 2018. The Russian played her last match at this year's Australian Open.