Tennis great Navratilova backs disgraced Sharapova

SINGAPORE — She was famous for her ice-cold exterior when she was still competing on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit en route to winning 18 Grand Slam ­titles. But on Thursday (April 28), tennis great Martina Navratilova momentarily lost her cool, when she was pressed about doping and other issues in her beloved sport.

“Enough about all that,” snapped the Czech legend.

But Navratilova still found time to come out in defence of former world No 1 Maria Sharapova — who rocked the sporting world when she tested positive for banned substance meldonium in January’s Australian Open — and said she believed the Russian star never intended to cheat.

Navratilova also pointed out that the World Anti-Doping Agency ­(WADA) had “some disconnect” in making it clear that meldonium had become a banned substance this year, and had not established clearly how long the drug could stay in a player’s system.

The decision to add meldonium to the list of banned substances was ­approved in September last year, and came into effect in January. WADA had spent the previous year monitoring the drug before deciding to outlaw it.

“Clearly there was some disconnect between making it clear that this is now illegal, and I don’t think WADA — by their own admission — knew how long the stuff stays in your system,” said Navratilova on Thursday at the launch event for this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore at the Singapore Sports Hub.

“So some athletes tested positive (for it) even though they stopped taking it prior to 2016.  

“I think they (WADA) just didn’t think it through well enough, and that’s why I think it took so long (for them) to make the decision.

“For me, I’m very sure that Maria did not know that this was on the list, otherwise she would never have taken it, because we are so paranoid about taking anything that is on that list.

“Players don’t even take over-the-counter stuff unless they know it’s 100 per cent safe.

“Maria made a big mistake, needless to say. But there is no doubt in my mind that she wasn’t trying to cheat. Whatever they (WADA) ­decide to do, they’ll have to be pretty uniform with all the other athletes.

“I’m pretty sure I’m speaking on behalf of the athletes that they wish they would just figure (out) what to do, so they know where they stand.”

Sharapova has been suspended since March, and she now awaits a tribunal in June to decide if she will have to face a ban of up to four years.