Maria Sharapova has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using a prohibited drug.
The Russian was provisionally banned in March after testing positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open.
The heart disease drug, which 29-year-old Sharapova says she has been taking since 2006 for health issues, became a banned substance on 1 January 2016.
The five-time Grand Slam winner said she “cannot accept” the “unfairly harsh” ban – and will appeal.
Sharapova will now challenge the suspension, which is backdated to 26 January 2016, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas)
In a statement, she said the tribunal concluded her offence was “unintentional” and that she had not tried to use a “performance enhancing substance”.
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