Luxury carmaker Porsche, a division of Volkswagen, said on Tuesday it would suspend tennis player Maria Sharapova as its brand ambassador in light of her admission that she failed a doping test.
The Russian tennis star on Monday admitted she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she was taking for health issues. She was informed by the International Tennis Federation that she tested positive for Meldonium, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances on Jan. 1, 2016. Sharapova said she has legally been taking the drug for 10 years.
“We regret the current news about Maria Sharapova. Until further details emerge and we are able to analyze the situation, we have decided to suspend planned activities,” Porsche said in a statement.
Porsche’s announcement comes a day after Nike suspended its relationship with the tennis star following the drug test revelation. “We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova,” Nike said in a statement Monday. “We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues. We will continue to monitor the situation.”
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; writing by Edward Taylor; editing by Jason Neely)
