Sharapova on mental health after failed drug test: I felt so small

Retired tennis star Maria Sharapova recalls unpleasant emotions after revealing failed drug test in 2016

Russian tennis beauty Maria Sharapova spoke about her mental health issues after she revealed a failed drug test at a press conference held in Los Angeles on March 7, 2016, according to a report in sportsfinding.com. Later, the International Tennis Federation handed her a 15-month ban for taking performance-enhancing drug, meldonium.

In the presser, Maria had said she was taking the drug ever since 2006 and didn't realise that it became a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at the start of 2016.

"After the appearance [press conference], I deleted all the social networks from my phone, to protect myself from opinions and judgments and to stay sane. I have never worried about what people think of me, but suddenly, with what happened, I did start to care. It was very unpleasant to feel so small," the former World No. 1 said in a Movistar+ documentary.

Meanwhile, Maria is grateful to her parents who were by her side during the tough phase. "My mother [Yelena]...spent weeks by my side so that I was accompanied. My father [Yuri] also accompanied me a lot to make sure that nothing went wrong," she added.

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