Maria Sharapova revealed she had failed a drugs test on this day in 2016.

The former world number one and five-time grand slam champion shocked tennis by announcing she had tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.

Sharapova explained she had been taking the substance since 2006 for an irregular heartbeat and a history of diabetes in her family and claimed not to have realised the medicine had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list at the beginning of 2016.

Then aged 28, Russian Sharapova was provisionally suspended from March 12, with Nike halting its sponsorship until the investigation was complete.

In a press conference at a hotel in Los Angeles, Sharapova said: “For the past 10 years, I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor, and a few days ago, after I received the ITF letter, I found out that it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.

“I failed the test and I take full responsibility for it. I let my fans down, I let the sport down that I have been playing since the age of four and I love so deeply.

“I know with this I face consequences and I don’t want to end my career this way and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game.”

Sharapova was initially banned for two years but this was reduced to 15 months on appeal.

The former Wimbledon champion returned to competitive tennis in April 2017 before retiring in February 2020.

Maria Sharapova used an article in Vanity Fair to announce she was “saying goodbye” to tennis, on this day in 2020.

Sharapova had struggled with chronic shoulder problems for some time and the five-time grand slam champion and former world number one had dropped to 373rd in the rankings.

The then-32-year-old said it would be a wrench to walk away, writing: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known?

“How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a little girl, the game that you love – one which brought you untold tears and unspeakable joys – a sport where you found a family, along with fans who rallied behind you for more than 28 years?

“I’m new to this, so please forgive me. Tennis – I’m saying goodbye.”

Having announced her talent by winning Wimbledon at the age of just 17 in 2004, Sharapova went on to establish herself as one of the greats of her era – among her contemporaries, only Serena and Venus Williams won more slam singles titles.

Sharapova added the US Open title in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008 before twice lifting the trophy at Roland Garros, in 2012 and 2014. She is one of only 10 women to achieve the career Grand Slam.

Her impact on court was trumped by her profile off it, with the Russian the world’s highest-earning female athlete for much of her career.

In 2016 came the bombshell announcement that she had failed a doping test for the cardiac drug meldonium, which had been added to the banned list at the start of that year.

Sharapova was banned for two years, reduced to 15 months on appeal.

She returned to action in April 2017 but was unable to reach her previous heights, peaking at a high of 21 in the rankings and reaching just one more grand slam quarter-final.

In July 2022, Sharapova became a mother with the birth of her son Theodore and has taken up pickleball in her post-retirement life.

Earlier this month, she partnered up with John McEnroe to take on Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf – in Pickleball Slam 2 – losing out on the one million USD (£789,000) prize.

Maria Sharapova announced the birth of her first child on Friday with English businessman Alexander Gilkes.

Sharapova, 35, retired early in 2020 when she was just 32, citing increasing physical pain that became too much to ignore.

She won five slam titles between 2004 and 2014, securing a career Grand Slam in the process – although she has lived in the United States since moving there as a child.

In an interview with the New York Times after her retirement, Sharapova detailed her chronic shoulder injuries that have plagued her since she was 21 years old, as well as something called intersection syndrome in both forearms, which she described as "like shin splints in my forearms."

In her Instagram post announcing the birth, Sharapova said her child, Theodore, is "the most beautiful, challenging, and rewarding gift our little family could ask for."

Teenage sensation Coco Gauff achieved numerous feats by reaching her maiden grand slam single's final at the French Open on Thursday.

Gauff has still not dropped a set at Roland Garros this year after cruising to a 6-3 6-1 semi-final victory over Martina Trevisan, ending the Italian's 10-match winning streak.

The 18-year-old became the youngest American female finalist in Paris since Monica Seles in 1991 and the youngest overall since Kim Clijsters in 2001.

The world number 23 is also the third-youngest grand slam finalist this century, with only Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004 and Clijsters at Roland Garros in 2001 doing so at a younger age.

Gauff has lifted the French Open trophy before, though, after succeeding in the junior competition four years ago.

But the in-form Iga Swiatek will be standing in her way on Saturday.

Swiatek is the first player to reach six or more finals on the WTA Tour in the first six months of the year since Serena Williams in 2013 (seven), with the Pole on a remarkable 34-match winning run.

However, the patience and precision of Gauff could test Swiatek after she became just the sixth American player in the Open era to reach the showpiece at Roland Garros without dropping a single set.

Victory for Gauff would make her the seventh player to win the girls' and women's singles titles in Paris.

Iga Swiatek continued her outstanding form as she cruised into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-3 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula, joining an elite list of young players to have reached the final four in the year's first two grand slams.

In racking up her 33rd consecutive win, the world number one ensured she followed up her semi-final appearance at this year's Australian Open with another deep run at Roland Garros.

On the day after her 21st birthday, 2020 French Open champion Swiatek joined a select group of players in managing that feat, with only six women making back-to-back semi-finals at the tournaments at a younger age than the Pole since the turn of the century.

They are Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova.

Having become just the fourth woman this century to win five consecutive tournaments on the WTA Tour coming into Roland Garros, Swiatek will go into her semi-final clash against Daria Kasatkina confident of taking another step towards a second grand slam title.