She was informed by the International Tennis Federation that she tested positive for Meldonium, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances on 1 January this year.
Below is the text of a letter she posted to her fans on Facebook and on her website on 9 March:
I woke up yesterday morning with an inbox, in full capacity of love and compassion.
The first email I immediately opened was from my best friend, you know, the type of person who can make you smile and cry with only one word and who I spent the evening on the phone with, checking up on me, how was I doing?
On average, I love the mornings. New day, new start. It is fair to say that this day was not average. Nothing came to mind at 6am except that I am determined to play tennis again and I hope I will have the chance to do so. I wish I didn’t have to go through this, but I do – and I will.
I needed to sweat, to push through and grind as I have done most of my life, so I made my way to the gym. That’s when I realized a bunch of tinted windowed cars were following me. The good old paparazzi, back on the trail.
