World No.64 Varvara Lepchenko has declined to comment about allegations made by a Russian official that she tested positive for meldonium earlier this year.
Anatoly Glebov, a physiotherapist who has worked with Maria Sharapova, claimed that Lepchenko tested positive for the banned substance the same time as Sharapova. Glebov told Sport Express that he spoke with the father of Lepchenko, who confirmed that the American player had tested positive.
“At about the same time as Maria, meldonium was found in the body of another tennis player originally from the former Soviet Union – Varvara Lepchenko. I talked with her dad, too, I heard about it from his own mouth.” Glebov said.
The plot thickens for the former top-20 player, who missed two months of the tour earlier this year. The 30-year-old has said that she missed those two months due to a knee injury.
Shortly after her first round loss to Ekaterina Makarova at the French Open, Lepchenko was asked about the meldonium allegations during her press conference. The world No.64 was questioned about the incident on eight occasions, but refused to comment.
“At the moment I have no comment on any of this. I’m here just to answer tennis questions. If you have any questions about my match, I would gladly answer them.” Lepchenko said.
“I’m here to answer questions about my match. If you guys have any questions about my match, I’m glad to answer them.”
It is alleged that a small amount of meldonium was traced in one of Lepchenko’s samples, however, this hasn’t been confirmed. The public may never know what exactly happened, according to the policy of the International Tennis Federation. If a positive test ends with no form of penalty, the case isn’t made public. The New York Times spoke with a member of the ITF about Lepchenko, who also declined to provide details.
“The rules of the tennis anti doping program do not allow us to confirm or deny that a player has tested positive until a final decision is made,” an ITF spokeswoman told the New York Times.
“The only exception to this is if the player him- or herself acknowledges the positive test.”
Doping in tennis has been brought into the spotlight following Maria Sharapova’s highly publicised failed test for meldonium. This former world No.1 is currently suspended from competition and is awaiting the outcome of a hearing to see if she will receive a ban from the sport.
Sharapova isn’t the only doping case in the sport this year. Brazilian doubles specialist Marcelo Demoliner served a three month ban earlier this year after testing positive for the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide. Demoliner is currently ranked 69th in the doubles rankings.
