Earlier today, World No. 7 Maria Sharapova revealed she had tested positive for meldonium, a banned substance under WADA rules, following her match against Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
The former World No. 1 says she had been taking meldonium, most commonly used for patients suffering from angina or repeated chest pain, and that she had been prescribed the drug by a doctor a decade ago.
Meldonium was not earlier on Wada’s list of banned substances, although a decision that was communicated to athletes in October 2015 was made official in January this year.
Several sports figures have spoken out in support of Sharapova, who currently faces a provisional ban effective from the 12th of March. Among them is tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who believes it was an “honest mistake,” but others, such as Capriati, were not as supportive.
The American, who has three Grand Slam titles to her credit, fired off a series of scathing tweets against the Russian immediately after the news broke:
Capriati received significant backlash from Twitter users, and, she alleges, in real life. She defended herself in a series of tweets saying she had “nothing to prove having been inducted into the hall of fame.”
The 39-year-old, who retired in 2004, has had her own brushes with the law, and has been arrested in the past for assault and battery, shoplifting and the possession of marijuana.
In a since-deleted tweet, she has also said she “did not have the high-priced team of doctors” to help her circumvent the system as she believed Sharapova had done.
