Maria Sharapova: Porsche the latest sponsor to 'postpone' deal with tennis star after failed drug test for meldonium

Porsche have followed Nike and Tag Heuer in suspending their sponsorship of Sharapova after her failed drug test revelation

Porsche have 'chosen to postpone planned activities' with Maria Sharapova (Getty Images)

Porsche have joined Nike and Tag Heuer in suspending their sponsorship deal with tennis star Maria Sharapova after her revelation that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open in January.

Sportswear giants Nike have already announced that they have suspended their $70m deal with the 28-year-old tennis star, who is the highest paid female athlete in the world and has been for the past 11 years.

Sharapova agreed a three-year deal in 2013 to become a brand ambassador for Porsche in one of her many sponsorship deals, and was seen arriving for the WTA pre-Wimbledon Party two years ago in Kensington in a top of the range Porsche 918 alongside former Formula One and current Porsche driver Mark Webber.

Porsche released a statement on Tuesday morning shortly after both Nike and Tag Heuer had put their links with Sharapova on hold to announce that they have “chosen to postpone planned activities” with their global brand ambassador, adding that the deal will remain suspended "until further details are released and we can analyse the situation”.

The short statement read: "We are saddened by the recent news announced by Maria Sharapova. Until further details are released and we can analyse the situation, we have chosen to postpone planned activities."

Sharapova earns a reported £21m-a-year from sponsorship and endorsements, prize money and income from her sweet company ‘Sugarpova’, according to Forbes, who estimate that she could stand to lose up to $30m from the fallout of her failed drug test.

Sharapova admitted to taking meldonium legally for the last decade, but the World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] placed the drug on the banned substances list on 1 January 2016 which Sharapova failed to notice after neglecting to open the relevant document sent to her by Wada.

Maria Sharapova alongside Mark Webber at the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party in 2014 (Getty Images)

She accepts “full responsibility” for a “huge mistake” and says she is prepared for the consequences that come with the regulation breach, which is expected to land her a one-year ban from competition.

The former world No 1, who has won five Grand Slam titles including a career Grand Slam, could be forced to stand before an independent tribunal as part of the investigation into her failed test – which came on the same day as her quarter-final elimination in Melbourne at the hands of Serena Williams.