Maria Sharapova’s announcement on Monday that she failed a drug test might cost her more than her right to play professionally—it could cost her millions of dollars in endorsement deals.
Sharapova said that the International Tennis Federation had just informed her that she had tested positive for Meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. The tennis star said she has been taking the drug legally for 10 years, but Meldonium, a heart medication manufactured in Latvia, was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substance on Jan. 1, 2016. Sharapova said she never opened the email that announced the drug was on the list.
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The ITF released a statement that Sharapova is provisionally banned from tennis, effective March 12, pending “determination” of the case.
For the past 11 years, Sharapova has held the title of the highest-paid female athlete, thanks to numerous endorsement deals with well-known companies. While the 28-year-old Russian is obviously a force in the tennis world with five Grand Slam titles, the six-foot-two inch blonde truly dominates off the court.
According to Forbes, Sharapova, currently ranked seventh in the world, earned $23 million in endorsement deals between June 2014 and June 2015, dwarfing the $6.7 million she brought in from salary and winnings.
Since the news broke, sponsors have quickly begun to distance themselves from Sharapova. Nike, Tag Heuer and Porsche have all said they’re suspending their relationships with her. Her other deals, including Evian, American Express, Head and Avon, have not yet changed their existing commitments.
Sharapova stands to lose the most from her deal with Nike, which signed her in 2010 to an eight-year contract worth $70 million, reportedly the largest deal for a female athlete ever. The company announced that it was suspending its relationship with the star as the investigation progresses.
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Swiss watch brand Tag Heuer said that it was ending talks with Sharapova to renew her contract with the company that ended on December 31, 2015. Automaker Porsche said it was suspending all planned sponsorship activity with her.
Brands moved away from Sharapova quickly, fearful of being anywhere near a doping scandal. Any negative press that tarnishes her image could spill over to the brand.
Not only could Sharapova lose her endorsement deals, she also stands to lose the $298,000 that she won at the Australian Open in January, where she fell to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. According to ITF rules, testing positively on a drug test at an event “automatically leads to disqualification of the results obtained by the player…including forfeiture of any medals, titles, ranking points, and prize money.”
There is one positive note, however. Unlike many other athletes, who have instantly denied taking steroids or other banned drugs, Sharapova almost immediately owned up to having taken the drug. She received the results of the test last Wednesday, which was administered at the Australia Open on January 26, and apologized yesterday to her fans, her business associates, her tennis colleagues, and to the sports officials of the WTA.
