Maria Sharapova banned for two years

Maria Sharapova has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation after failing a drugs test.

The Russian was provisionally banned in March after testing positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open.

The heart disease drug, which 29-year-old Sharapova says she has been taking since 2006 for health issues, became a banned substance on 1 January 2016.

The ITF said the ban would be backdated to 26 January 2016, the day Sharapova provided the positive test.