Maria Sharapova pledges to appeal ‘unfairly harsh’ two-year ban

Maria Sharapova has vowed to appeal the two-year suspension handed to her for failing a drugs test at the Australian Open.

Sharapova’s ban, announced by the International Tennis Federation yesterday, is backdated to January 26 this year, when she tested positive for prohibited substance meldonium.

The five-time grand slam champion will miss the Olympic Games in Rio this summer while the earliest grand slam she could next enter is the French Open in 2018.