By Alberto Amalfi | Wednesday, May 25, 2016
"At the moment, I have no comment on any of this," said Varvara Lepchenko when asked if allegations she tested positive for meldonium are true.
Photo credit: Bank of West Classic
Maria Sharapova may not be the only player to test positive for meldonium.
Following her opening-round Roland Garros exit, Varvara Lepchenko was repeatedly asked to address allegations that she too tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open earlier this season.
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Lepchenko refused to directly answer the allegations.
The 64th-ranked American declined to deny or confirm a published report by the Russian newspaper Sport Express that she tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January.
"At the moment I have no comment on any of this," Lepchenko said after her three-set loss to Russian Ekaterina Makarova. "I'm here just to answer tennis questions. If you have any questions about my match, I would gladly answer them but otherwise, I just have no comments."
A New York Times report by Ben Rothenberg quotes Russian trainer Anatoly Glebov, who claims Lepchenko’s father, Peter, told him his daughter tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.
“I talked with her dad, too; I know about it from his lips,” Glebov told Sport Express in comments published by the New York Times. “However, the ITF. has not made this public.”
Read the New York Times report here.
Speculation of a silent ban for Lepchenko increased following a two-month absence from the WTA Tour.
Some reports suggest the amount of meldonium detected in Lepchenko's system was too low to warrant a full suspension; others state she was granted amnesty following two months on the sidelines. Lepchenko has declined to confirm nor deny any of those reports.
Lepchenko lost in her Doha opener to 73rd-ranked Zheng Saisai in late February, then did not play again until earlier this month when she lost in the second round of Rome qualifying to Kiki Bertens.
The 30-year-old Lepchenko told the Times a knee injury forced her to take time off from the Tour.
“It’s been going on since last year,” Lepchenko told the New York Times.
The International Tennis Federation said anti-doping rules prevent it from confirming or denying reports of Lepchenko's positive test for meldonium.
“The rules of the tennis antidoping program do not allow us to confirm or deny that a player has tested positive until a final decision is made,” an ITF spokeswoman told the New York Times. “The only exception to this is if the player him or herself acknowledges the positive test.”
That comment effectively puts the ball back in Lepchenko's court.
Sharapova faced a disciplinary hearing in London last Wednesday. The three-member tribunal will determine the five-time Grand Slam champion's punishment for testing positive for meldonium following her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams.
Experts predict Sharapova will likely receive a suspension anywhere from six months to one year. She is currently serving a provisional suspension.
A ruling in Sharapova's case is expected by Wimbledon, ITF president Dave Haggerty said.