‘She’s in the wrong’: Andy Murray on Maria Sharapova’s drug taking

Maria Sharapova faces a lengthy ban from professional tennis after she failed a drug test ahead of playing the Australian Open in January and it seems that fellow player Andy Murray has no sympathy for her. 

The 28-year-old Russian sports star tested positive for the drug meldonium, a substance she has been taking for over ten years for alleged health reasons. 

Meldonium was put on the official list of banned substances on January 1 and the tennis champion claimed she was oblivious to the recent changes in doping protocols. 

While many fans and fellow tennis players have come out in support of the star, others find her explanation for taking the drug implausible, including Scottish player Andy Murray. 

"It’s not up to me to decide the punishment, but if you’re taking performance enhancing drugs and you fail a drugs test, you have to get suspended," he said at an Indian Wells Masters event this week. 

"I think taking a prescription drug that you don’t necessarily need, but just because it’s legal, that’s wrong, clearly. That’s wrong.

"If you’re taking a prescription drug and you’re not using it for what that drug was meant for, then you don’t need it, so you’re just using it for the performance enhancing benefits that drug is giving you. And I don’t think that that’s right."

The 28-year-old also found it hard to believe that Maria and no one on her team had made sure that what she was taking was legal. 

"Some people put a lot of trust in the team around them so it’s hard to say what’s the right thing for everyone, but it’s almost kind of part of her job to know everything that’s going into her body and not just rely on what a doctor is saying or a physio is saying.

"You check yourself to make sure, double check to make sure, that anything that’s going into your body is safe."

Maria spoke for the first time since the announcement yesterday and thanked her fans for their support.