"Meldonium for the brain?" - Pam Shriver reveals many tennis players are on meds similar to Maria Sharapova's controversial drug
Following a two-month ban on Fernando Verdasco, Pam Shriver has highlighted the issue of tennis professionals who are on medication for ADHD, drawing a parallel with Maria Sharapova's use of meldonium.
Former World No.7 Fernando Verdasco has been banned for two months after testing positive for the drug methylphenidate 😮
#FernandoVerdasco #Doping #Tennis https://t.co/tBFBSSN8mv
Verdasco, who tested positive for "methylphenidate," had failed to renew his Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for the medicine that is used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Shriver questioned how many players had applied for TUEs for ADHD recently, as, according to the tennis grapevine, several professionals could be using medicines prescribed to treat the condition with a view to sharpen focus and concentration in a manner that "brings up integrity questions."
Through grape vines of pro tennis, I hear that many players are on ADHD meds to help sharpen focus and concentration in a manner that brings up integrity questions. Are ADHD meds the meldonium for the brain? Wonder how many current players have asked for a TUE for ADHD recently? https://t.co/6HiDN0pzMG
"Through grapevines of pro tennis, I hear that many players are on ADHD meds to help sharpen focus and concentration in a manner that brings up integrity questions. Are ADHD meds the meldonium for the brain? Wonder how many current players have asked for a TUE for ADHD recently"
According to WADA, if an athlete has an illness or a medical condition that requires a particular medication that contains an ingredient that is on the list of prohibited substances, a TUE that allows the individual to "compete in a proper state of health" without affording a competitive advantage is allowed.
Maria Sharapova failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open and was handed a two-year ban following which the suspension was reduced to fifteen months as the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the Russian had consumed the substance based on a doctor's recommendation.
Maria Sharapova returns to tennis this week following her 15-month ban having tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. https://t.co/IAwbkySdU1
In Verdasco's case, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) stated that the Spaniard's violation was "inadvertent and unintentional," with the ban being decreased to two months from two years.
What Maria Sharapova said after failing drug test in 2016
Maria Sharapova drove the tennis world into a tizzy following the revelation that she had failed a drug test.
Over the course of a press meeting in March 2016, the five-time Grand Slam champion stated that she had been prescribed mildronate for the past 10 years, and found out later that it was also called meldonium.
"For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received a letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know," the sombre-faced player announced.
Sharapova stressed that the substance she consumed was not previously on WADA's prohibited list, and was included by the anti-doping body in January 2016.
"It is very important for you to understand that for 10 years this medicine was not on Wada's banned list and I had been legally taking that medicine for the past 10 years," she said.
She did, however, admit that she took "full responsibility" for what had transpired.
"I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” Maria Sharapova stated.