MOSCOW - The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that Russian player Maria Sharapova, who has been suspended from tennis for two years, will be stripped of the rating points and prize money that she won at the 2016 Australian Open.
The information about the decision has been published on the ITF website.
Sharapova reached the stage of quarterfinals at the 2016 Australian Open to loose to U.S. player Serena Williams.
It became known on Wednesday that ITF had suspended Sharapova for two years.
Back on March 7, Sharapova told a press conference in the U.S. that meldonium traces had been found in her doping test taken during the Australian Open in January 2016. Meldonium is a substance that was included in the 2016 WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) Prohibited List, staring from Jan. 1.
Sharapova said that she had taken this medication for many years and had been unaware that it was prohibited.
