You'd think she'd have at least one pro to handle that side of things, not sure about a "team", but then if I think about it, I must say it is very odd if an athlete takes a banned substance, when they know (a) it's now banned and (b) it will certainly show up in their next test.

That's the bit that suggests monumental cockup rather than attempt to cheat, to me. Unless being tested was unlikely, but I thought they all had to provide samples.

We're talking about professional Tennis at the pinnacle here, no way will it be one person's job. There will be at least 4 or 5 people employed; coach, manager/agent, doctor/physio, psychologist, dietician/nutritionalist. They won't be working for peanuts either, one report suggests a wage figure of around one million dollars.

Pro athletes have doping information consistently forced upon them. It's so high profile that it simply isn't an excuse to say 'I didn't know.' I don't believe for one moment that such a high profile athlete with multiple hangers-on, medical team, personal Doctors, PR and general staff would just take any medication without high profile consultation on the subject.

She's been caught, and now trying to damage control everything.

She has been the highest paid female athlete for the last 11 yrs. and is estimated to be worth $200 million.

Her Nike sponsorship is reputed to be $70 million in total and her losses per year, if banned, are reportedly $30 million per year.

She is a veritable cash cow, pardon the pun, and you would have thought it would be in someone's interest to look after her.

She'll no doubt put some spin on it.

If we recall Keiron Cunningham's mitigating circumstances which went along the lines of "unknowingly taken a banned substance" then perhaps this is the similar ? i.e. I have been taking this permitted substance without issue for 10yrs but since Jan its been banned and no-one told me.

However - the piece from Dick Pound suggests that changes to the banned list were first published in Sep 15, so there's a significant time to make sure you're "clean' by Jan 16.

You would assume that someone like Sharapova, at the very top of the game, has people employed to ensure she doesn't take things that are banned.

I find it hard (not impossible, but hard) to believe that an elite sportsperson, in a sport with plenty of money riding on it and where they're paid lots of money, can take something without knowing what's in it or whether that substance is banned or not. Especially in individual sport.

I have no specific knowledge in this case but I have heard (from a sports conditioner) of cases where people have been taking banned substances alongside other substances that are initially legal. They've managed to mask the banned substances but then caught out when one of the initially legal substances they're taking is made illegal because they don't know how to mask it.

I think the smart money goes on her having people to ensure she doesn't get caught.

We're not in the amateur game any more. She's a fully professional athlete. It stands to reason she and every other fully professional athlete will seek to exploit all possible avenues of advantage - legal or not. She would be UN-professional not to. If people didn't want this kind of thing cropping up in sport they should never have agreed to the introduction of professionalism.

I mean, I've yet to hear a single person argue the difference between performance-enhancing and non-performance-enhancing drugs without sounding ridiculous.

She's been earning around £30 million a year with endorsements and corporate sponsorship. Clearly it's been worth the risk. The hypocrisy of those corporate companies is laughable though. They're happy to throw millions at her when she's the apparent golden girl but now she's been caught out they run for the hills as fast as they can to distance themselves from a 'cheat'.

To be fair - BOTH parties know the end-result should the athlete get found out. There can be no complaints from either side.

By the way - did anyone else think Ernie Els [uSIX-PUTTING FROM TWO FEET[/u the first hole at the Masters ... erm ... [istrange?[/i