They have been on a roll in the tennis circuit until they were convicted of doping. Read how these tour stars fought their way back to the tennis world:
Maria Sharapova (32)
In January 2016 Sharapova has been banned for one year and four months after she failed a test for the drug meldonium during the Australian Open.
While Sharapova maintained that she took the drug on the advice of her doctor for health reasons over a 10-year period only, the tribunal found further evidence in emails between Sharapova and her doc Dr. Anatoly Skalny.
According to The Guardian he advised ‚during games of special importance you can increase your Mildronate dose to 3-4 pills (1 hour before the match)‘. During her ban she released with Unstoppable her first autobiography in september 2017.
„I think it brings a sense of gratefulness that I don’t think I really had. Everything was on automatic for many years. It’s like you wake up, you train, you go to tournaments and you go to another tournament and you win some and you lose some. But since I came back, I just really value every single event. I value every practice and there are definitely tough days, where you’re just physically tired and jet-lagged, but you always have to show up and my fans have been incredible“, Sharapova told FOX Business.
She gave her comeback at the Australian Open in January 2018 where she lost after wins against Tatjana Maria and Anastasija Sevastova against Angelique Kerber in the third round. After she struggled with a shoulder injury in the past months Sharapova wants to attack next season with her new coach Riccardo Piatti (61) again.
Richard Gasquet (33)
Gasquet has been banned for two months and fifteen days from ATP World Tour after he tested positive for cocaine in March 2009.
His ban got reduced after the ITF trusted his claim that he had „inadvertently“ taken on the drug when sharing french kisses in a Miami nightclub with a frenchwoman, identified only as this time 29-year-old Pamela D. . A few months later Gasquet returned at the US Open back to the scene where he lost to Rafael Nadal 2:6 2:6 3:6 in the first round.
„It was very tough mentally stopping for those 2½ months. I ask only one thing: be patient. I need time. Not many people would have recovered after going through what I’ve experienced. I’m going to do everything I can in training“, Gasquet told the French sports newspaper L’Equipe. After he has worked his way over the years in 2016 back in the top 10, Gasquet ended this season ranked as number 61.
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Daniel Evans (29)
Former world number 41 Evans got tested positive to cocaine in April 2017 during the Barcelona Open where the sample was found to contain cocaine and its metabolite.
He got banned from 26th June 2017 on for one year. In an interview with Independent he revealed deep insights in his soul life.
„There isn’t much you can do in the day when other people are working. I was living in Cheltenham, away from anybody else, so I was just on my own for much of the nine months until 5.30pm or 6pm every day“, Evans told Independent.
‚The need of food‘ motivated him to get out of bed each day: „It’s hard to explain, I would never want anyone to go through what having a ban is like. It’s my own fault. don’t get me wrong“, he added.
Obviously in the back of my mind I was thinking: I’m a professional tennis player, I’m missing a year of my life. And it’s probably not right to be out enjoying yourself when you’ve let so many people down“, Evans explained towards Independent.
Since his return in 2018 he climbed the world rankings month for month and is with his ranking 42 to the end of the season 2019 only one rank away from his career best two years ago.
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