First, it was Sharapova, now it's Sara Errani, in the news for the latest Doping accusation. Hopefully, this is a result of the authorities cracking down on doping and drug use in the tennis circuit. On the flip side, this could also just be a way to make it seem like they are taking a more serious stance against drugs by using a known but not highly ranked professional, who in this case is Sara Errani.

Not only could they be using Sara Errani as a scapegoat, but they also banned her for two months, an amount of time that shows that they are taking action, but is also not long enough to really hurt the player.

Sara Errani used letrozole

Errani has been suspended for two months for testing positive for the use of the banned substance Letrozole, which she claims that she took unknowingly. Sara Errani is a previous Grand Slam finalist, reaching the final of the French Open in 2012, and claims that the drug must have contaminated her food without her knowledge.

The drug was present in her household because Errani's mother has been fighting breast cancer since 2005, and the substance Letrzole is in Errani's mother's breast cancer medication, Femara. Letrozole is a hormone therapy drug, which reduces oestrogen levels in the body.

Errani is also sure that she did not take an entire pill by accident either.

Letrozole can be found in hair if a single pill is taken, and it was not found in Errani's hair sample. This would prove that she did not even take an entire pill's amount of the banned substance.

Errani says she is at 'peace'

Errani has said that she is at 'peace with her conscious' since she is sure that she did not ingest any banned substance on purpose or with prior knowledge.

She also says that she did not do anything wrong.

The independent tribunal also said that most likely, Errani's food was contaminated after her mother dropped some of the pills on the kitchen counter where food is prepared. Even the adjudication panel said that the ITF did not try to push the idea that Errani's doping was intentional.

Well, if the doping wasn't intentional, and the amount that Errani ingested was not enough to enhance her performance, then why is Errani being banned at all? More likely than not, this is a way for the ITF to keep people quite. There have been a lot of people bashing on Maria Sharapova, and the way she has been welcomed back to tennis.

Players and spectators are no longer willing to tolerate the uneven playing field that doping provides to players, no matter the doper's ranking or a number of titles.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED