Sharapova has filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision issued by the Tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on 6 June 2016. In her appeal to the CAS, Sharapova seeks the annulment of the Tribunal’s decision to sanction her with a two-year period of ineligibility further to an anti- doping rule violation. Sharapova submits that the period of ineligibility should be eliminated, or in the alternative, reduced. The parties have agreed to an expedited procedure which will allow the CAS to render a decision, at the latest, on 18 July 2016. The 29-year-old player from Russia, provided a urine sample on 26 January 2016, after her quarter-final match at the 2016 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia. That sample was sent to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Montreal, Canada for analysis, and was found to contain meldonium, which is a metabolic modulator that is included under section S4 (Hormone and Metabolic Modulators) of the 2016 WADA Prohibited List, and therefore is also prohibited under the Programme.