American Jeff Tarango, the former coach of Maria Sharapova, has blamed her team for the positive result in the doping test she underwent during the Australian Open.
Tarango told the BBC on Tuesday that it is “believable” that Sharapova was not aware of changes in the banned substances list of the International Tennis Federation, or ITF.
He said that if she does not read the letters of the ITF then the members of her team should, blaming the situation entirely on the entourage of the Russian tennis player.
Sharapova, 28, said on Monday in Los Angeles that she had tested positive for the banned substance, meldonium, at the Australian Open earlier this year.
The drug – said to increase physical and mental performance – was added to a list of banned substances in early 2016 and Sharapova said she was unaware of its change in status, adding that she takes full responsibility for that oversight.