Maria Sharapova has been 'reckless beyond description' and has no one to blame but herself, says Dick Pound

Former Wada president Dick Pound believes that the failure to notice that meldonium has been banned at the start of the year is entirely Sharapva's fault

Maria Sharapova reacts after revealing she has failed a drug test (Getty Images)

Former World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] president Dick Pound has labelled Maria Sharapova “reckless” and says that she only has herself to blame for the positive drug test that is threatening to ruin her career.

Sharapova revealed on Monday in a Los Angeles press conference that she had tested positive for the banned performance enhancing drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Having claimed to have taken the drug legally for the last 10 years, Sharapova failed to notice that it was added to Wada’s banned substances list on 1 January 2016, despite being emailed the relevant information.

Sharapova now faces a lengthy ban and will stand before the International Tennis Federation [ITF] given the number of unanswered questions that have arisen from her short statement, with the ITF provisionally suspending her from competition from 12 March after her positive test on 26 January.

Pound did not hold back in his damning assessment of the 28-year-old Russian tennis star, and admitted that the blame lie with Sharapova for her failure to notice it had been added to the prohibited list.

“Running a $30m (£21m) business depends on you staying eligible to play tennis. You are taking something on a list, which you have known about for four months. I am sorry, that is a big mistake - of course she should have known," Pound said in an interview with the BBC.

"She is taking something that is not generally permitted in her country of residence (the United States) for medical purposes, so she says, so there must be a doctor following this."

Three of her sponsors – sportswear giants Nike, watchmaker Tag Heuer and supercar manufacturers Porsche – all suspended or ended their contracts with Sharapova following the news, although mineral water brand Evian has stuck by her and says it will “follow closely” the investigation into her failed drug test by the ITF and Wada.

73-year-old Pound, who was Wada’s first president from 1999 to 2007, added that Sharapova will have been informed that meldonium was being added to the prohibited list as early as December, and was highly critical of her failure to become aware of the change and subsequently stop using the drug.

"Any time there is a change to the list, notice is given on 30 September prior to the change,” Pound added. “You have October, November, December to get off what you are doing.

"All the tennis players were given notification of it and she has a medical team somewhere. That is reckless beyond description."

Wada decided to outlaw meldonium after they found "evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance", having monitored it throughout 2015.

Writing in his column for the Independent, current Wada president Craig Reedie admitted that the abuse of meldonium has become a problem, and added that for a team the size of Sharapova’s, their complete failure to notice the change is “embarrassing”.

“For the World Anti-Doping Agency it’s a big concern because it’s clear that people are abusing the drug and it is one that was being monitored by us last year,” wrote Reedie.

“It was officially put on the banned list at the start of this year with more than sufficient notice to all the relevant bodies on the basis that the evidence suggests it is performance-enhancing.

“With Sharapova and the size of the entourage she has around her, you would have to say there must be some people in that camp very embarrassed that this has happened.”