Maria Sharapova ‘arrogant, conceited and cold’
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Rumours of the Russian’s unpopularity in the locker room have swirled around the WTA for years – Sharapova herself even declaring in 2013, “I’m not really close to many players. I think just because you’re in the same sport it doesn’t mean that you have to be friends with everyone”.
But while there might not have been a lot of sympathy for the 28-year-old in the wake of her positive test for meldonium, most pros have been reserved when asked to comment on the situation. Until now.
Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova dropped a bomb on Sharapova in an interview with a sports magazine in her home city of Bratislava ahead of a tournament in Poland.
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The 2014 Australian Open finalist left nothing in reserve in her criticism of the tennis glamour girl, saying she hasn’t been missed since being placed on provisional suspension.
“I was surprised that most of the reactions were so diplomatic, because everyone’s opinion is actually totally different,” said Cibulkova, according to a translation of the interview shared by several media outlets.
“I didn’t make any statement, as I didn’t want to be the only person to openly say what they think about this case. I will only say that I don’t feel sorry at all for Sharapova and I don’t miss her on the tour.
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“She’s a totally unlikeable person. Arrogant, conceited and cold. When I sit beside her in the locker room, she won’t even say hello.”
The World No. 53’s dagger backs up recent comments from 18-time Grand Slam champion and ESPN analyst Chris Evert, who said: “Maria Sharapova has always isolated herself from the rest of the tennis world, from the players. She doesn’t have a lot of close friendships on the tour.”
A former coach of a top 10 player also anonymously told the New York Post Sharapova “definitely doesn’t seem to have any friends on tour”.
“She is very cold. When Maria walks into (the players’ lounge), things will stop midsentence,” the strength coach said.
“Her camp (coaches, trainers, assistants) and even (now-ex-boyfriend tennis pro) Grigor Dimitrov would be chatting with everyone, and when (Sharapova) would walk in, Grigor and her coach would make eye contact and know to stop socialising. It became a joke among everyone (in pro tennis).”
Positive meldonium tests continue to rock Russian sports. Four judokas are the latest athletes to test positive for the banned substance, local media reported on Monday.
An unnamed source told TASS news agency that the four judokas are the 2012 world champion Mikhail Pulyaev, Denis Yartsev, Natalia Kondratieva and Yekaterina Valkova.
The country’s judo federation, however, refused to comment on the case or name any athletes who had tested positive for the banned medicine.
Meldonium – an endurance-boosting drug that is used to treat heart trouble – was added to the list of banned substances on January 1, 2016.
Since then, a string of high-profile Russian athletes, including Olympic swimmer Yulia Efimova, speedskaters Semyon Yelistratov and Pavel Kulizhnikov have all admitted to testing p
ositive for the drug.
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