Abstract

Maria Sharapova is a Russian professional tennis player. She was born in Russia and is a resident of the US. She has won various honors throughout her career, including 35 singles titles 5 Grand Slam titles and a silver medal in women's singles at the 2012 Olympics. On March 7, 2016, Sharapova made an announcement at a press conference at Los Angeles, that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open. She had tested positive for Meldonium, a drug listed on January 1, 2016, under banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She said she had been legally taking the drug under the trade name Mildronate since 2006, as prescribed by her doctor for several health issues that she had. She had come up from poor financial status to millions. Was she under pressure to maintain these millions and maintain her position? Had she been looking for an advantage while taking the drug when it was allowed? Was this drug helping her in performing well? Were the physical symptoms an outcome of her mental and emotional pressure? Answering these and other related questions makes it an interesting study to understand the psychological makeup of a sports person.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• To stay updated with the latest information related to their profession.
• To maintain emotional and mental health, to be physically healthy
• How dependency on drugs always leads to downfall
• How dependency on other people leads to mistakes.
• What to do to maintain emotional and mental health.

Keywords

Grand Slam Champion, Australian Open, International Tennis Federation, World Anti-Doping Agency,Mildronate, Meldonium, Ischemia, Bollettieri Tennis Academy,International Management Group,Women's Tennis Association,Food and Drugs Administration, US,High-intensity exercise,Russian Tennis Federation,Self-confidence,Emotional overload "