ITF warns players after Sharapova drugs ban is reduced

Tennis players will not be able to plead ignorance if they test positive for banned substances, says the International Tennis Federation.

Ex-world number one Maria Sharapova, 29, had a two-year ban reduced to 15 months after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ruled she was not told about a change in the drug’s status.

She tested positive for meldonium less than a month after it was banned.

The ITF said “appropriate steps were taken to publicise any changes”.

But, in a statement, it added: “Nonetheless, we have reviewed, and will continue to review, our processes for communicating changes to the prohibited list to players with the aim of ensuring that no player can claim that they had not been fully informed.”