Tennis star Maria Sharapova has denied reports that she was warned five times about meldonium being part of the banned drugs list for 2016.
The five-time Grand Slam champion revealed on Monday that she failed a drug test after losing to Serena Williams at the Australian Open in January.
The Russian claimed that she has been taking meldonium for the past 10 years and failed to click on a link on December 22 alerting players that the drug would be included in the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list from January 1.
It has since been claimed that the International Tennis Federation and WTA informed players five times throughout December regarding the updated list, but Sharapova denies this.
On Facebook, she wrote: "I want to reach out to you to share some information, discuss the latest news, and let you know that there have been things that have been reported wrong in the media, and I am determined to fight back.
"You have shown me a tremendous outpouring of support, and I'm so grateful for it, but I have also been aware that some - not all, but some - in the media distort, exaggerate and fail to accurately report the facts about what happened. A report said that I had been warned five times about the upcoming ban on the medicine I was taking. That is not true and it never happened.
"That's a distortion of the actual 'communications' which were provided or simply posted onto a webpage. I make no excuses for not knowing about the ban. I already told you about the December 22, 2015 email I received. Its subject line was 'Main Changes to the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme for 2016'. I should have paid more attention to it, but the other 'communications'? They were buried in newsletters, websites, or handouts."
Sharapova is currently serving a provisional ban and could face a four-year suspension from tennis.
Danielle Joynson
