Maria Sharapova will miss the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after her appeal hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport addressing her two-year suspension for doping was delayed until September, according to
BBC Sports.
Sharapova, 29, one of the biggest names in sports with five Grand Slam tennis titles, was given the suspension in June after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open back in January.
In a
statement released on Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is located in Lausanne, Switzerland, said Sharapova and the International Tennis Federation agreed to the delay until September 2016.
"Due to the parties requiring additional time to complete and respond to their respective evidentiary submissions, and several scheduling conflicts, the parties have agreed not to expedite the appeal," the court's statement said.
Along with the Olympics, Sharapova could miss eight Grand Slam tournaments if the suspension is upheld.
The Guardian reported in June that Nike, Head and Evian are standing by the Russian, with Nike lifting an earlier suspension it placed on the Russian tennis star when news broke of her failed drug test in March.
Porsche ended working with Sharapova after her failed test, and will wait for her Court of Arbitration to Sport verdict, noted The Guardian. Watchmaker Tag Heuer announced in March it had decided not to renew Sharapova's sponsorship, but added it could work with her again in the future.
Avon also ended its contract with Sharapova but said it was not because of the doping ban, noted The Guardian.
Before the doping scandal, Sharapova was the world's highest-paid female athlete before fellow tennis star Serena Williams unseated her for that title in June, according to Forbes. Sharapova's current earnings of $21.9 million dropped her to 88th place, noted
Forbes.
Sharapova has said she has used meldonium, also known as mildronate, since 2006 for health issues, but the drug was banned on Jan. 1, said BBC Sports.
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