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British number two Heather Watson is up 31 places in the world rankings to 53 after winning the Monterrey Open.

It was the 23-year-old's third WTA title of her career

(http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/800/cpsprodpb/4D13/production/_88613791_watson_epa.jpg)

what is the ceiling for Heather in terms of world rankings?

when would a top WTA player mature and be at their peak?


Konta is 26th
Broady 70th

we havent had this since Wade and Barker have we? albeit a lobng way off that yet

Jo Durie was World top ten I think?

she was, but we didn't have three players climbing the rankings fast simultaneously iirc.

Oh I see, you mean mutiple players. Annabel Croft was around the same time as Durie. Maybe wasn't actually that good? I bet Mere rated her :)

Feels like in the women's game you can hit top 32 just based on consistency.  If she has the tools to go top 16 not so sure.

On a related note is Laura Robson finished with her injury?  Such a shame as she was beating top 10 players at Slams before injury struck.

At the end of 1985, Britain had 5 players in the top 100.

Annabel Croft 24 (21)
Jo Durie 26  (5)
Anne Hobbs 40 (33)
Sara Gomer 77 (46)
Virginia Wade 89 (2)

Highest ever ranking in brackets.

You can get full lists here:
http://www.wtatennis.com/singles-rankings

Laura Robson continues to struggle with her wrist and there are no signs of things turning around.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/feb/26/laura-robson-pulls-out-of-mexico-tournament-wrist

She is nominally on the list of entries for Indian Wells this week but I don't think that she is playing.


She is responsible for my biggest ever odds win on a single match when she beat Kim Clijsters in the US Open at about 9/1 so I'm particularly fond of her.
Hopefully she will make Nottingham this year.

Angela Mortimer and Christine Truman must have been ranked fairly high.

She is also an absolute beauty!

Maria Sharapova is announcing that she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open.
It is a medicine that she has taken for a long time but the rules changed on 1st January.

http://heavy.com/sports/2016/03/maria-sharapova-press-conference-retirement-live-stream-when-time-channel-computer-phone-details/

For those wishing to watch a replay, here is the YouTube clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWxoG3FrmlU

It starts at 43:35.

Cliffs:

Her family doctor prescribed her a drug called meldonium. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meldonium
She has had a long standing illness and has been taking it for 10 years.
She didn't read the new list that was sent from WADA in December.
She takes full responsibility personally.
There has been no decision on the repercussions.

Do you believe her Mere?
I'm sure she has a full team around her and a 'mistake' like this seems implausible to me. I'm sure more detail will come out so not to jump to conclusions.

I'd very much like to take her at face value but, as you say, she has a large team and is known for her professionalism so it does seem like a really poor oversight.

This appears to be the document that she didn't look at:
https://wada-main-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/resources/files/wada-2016-prohibited-list-summary-of-modifications-en.pdf

It is particularly unfortunate that there is a big issue with Russian athletes generally so that doesn't look good for her.
However, if she can show that it has been a long term prescription from a "family doctor" I would guess some leniency would be shown.

I also don't know whether the fact that this drug had only been ruled illegal for three weeks at the time of her testing would be taken into consideration. It seems to me that there is a difference between taking a drug that has been deemed prohibited for many years or for just three weeks.

This is the same drug that two Ukrainian biathletes and a Russian cyclist have tested positve for this year, and it's expected to be the reason a raft of Ethiopian runners (who have a Ukrainian doctor) have also failed tests.

Let's face it, the authorities didn't suddenly stick it on the banned list for no good reason.

Tennis girls.

Woof!

Sounds like it's a drug used to treat angina.  Assuming Sharapova doesn't suffer from angina what did the "family doctor" prescribe it for?

She says that it was in response to several symptoms including repeated irregular EKG results.

Fair enough if true.

Liar liar pants on fire

So, is there a school of thought that she has acute angina ? I like to think so.. I'd hate to see her banned

Zero chance she wasnt doping. Theres zero reason she would be prescribed this drug. Its an out and out doping drug in professional athletes. Shes basically just admitted to cheating for 10 years in trying to lie her way out.

Thanks for your deep insight.

Meldonium is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States (according to Wikipedia).
Sharapova has been a resident of the USA since 1996 but I don't know where her "family doctor" is based.

Thanks I dont have wiki on my computer

You should get an upgrade.

The point I took exception to was your unequivocal statements highlighted below.
I assume that you must have a medical degree and that you are privy to her private medical records given the strength of your convictions.
To make an assumption that there is "zero chance" and "zero reason" are clearly particularly stupid things to post when the drug is prescribed to treat angina and myocardial infarction, at least.
A little more rational thought might help. It is very clear that there is significantly greater than zero chance.

Also she wasn't 'cheating for 10 years' if it wasn't banned previously.
But how many times has an athlete got caught drugging and said, "Oh I'm sorry. I was mistakenly prescribed that by my doctor."
It's interesting that they thought she was about to announce her retirement. Is she on the downgrade? I guess she's thinking of the Sharapova Brand now. Endorsements dry up in a hurry with this sort of news.
I can see her getting a light ban, coming back briefly then retiring and selling perfume or lollipops or something. Funny I was just googling what she makes from endorsements and I came across the Forbes page and their quote of the day is;

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."
-Warren Buffett

Scene: An upmarket nightclub with loud music pumping.

A clearly confident AndrewT spots Maria Sharapova by the bar and wanders over for a chat.

AndrewT - Hey Maria, fancy a dance?

Maria - I have acute angina.

AndrewT (mishearing) thinks - This is going way better than I thought it would.

I bet Heather Watson is furious.
She gets her own thread on Blonde and 5 minutes later that attention whore Sharapova tells everyone, "hey, I'm taking drugs."

Ms. Watson already had a Blonde thread. How many does she need?

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=64772.0

Is there any reason Russian athletes would be more susceptible to angina than the general population? 

I suspect that one issue might be that they are not more susceptible to angina (and several other conditions for which the drug might be reasonably prescribed) but that this particular drug is not approved in the USA and the EU for general use but is widely used in Eastern Europe. It was developed in Latvia. I would think that there are equivalent drugs used elsewhere that have the same properties but which are not, yet, on the WADA prohibited list.

If Sharapova has been taking since she was 18, I doubt that she would have been personally responsible for a decision to start taking it. She would presumably have been a little ahead of the curve to have planned its usage for performance enhancement that long ago (although there appear to be papers noting its benefits for performance enhancement from 2002).

Meldonium was on the WADA monitoring list throughout 2015 and its usage by a significant number of athletes was noted. Sharapova must have been tested during that period (quite possibly as much as ten times being a top player). One wonders why she wouldn't have been made aware of this if it was the case.

Correction: She is in the draw for the first round. I assume that she must have had a wildcard as her protected ranking must have expired by now.

What is meldonium, what does it do, & why was it added to WADA list? This article is good

https://jakegshelley.wordpress.com/2016/03/03/what-is-melodoniummildronate/

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdA5C8CWEAA0xvm.jpg)

Hence my earlier question. It seems quite clear that Melodium has been used to enhance performance by Russian athletes, presumably for a number of years. It seems likely that Sharapova is one of those given her reasoning for being on Melodium is less than convincing. Now not being an elite athlete I'm not sure how exactly they are made aware when substances are added to the banned list but I'm guessing they don't just add it without telling anyone.

As I see it, it is perfectly ok to use performance enhancing "substances" so long as they are legal.  So up until December, she was doing nothing wrong.   All kinds of foods/supllements are going to improve your bulk/performance/endurance, whilst WADA views them as legal.  I don't know enough to be sure where the line should be drawn.


http://roidvisor.com/performance-enhancing-drugs-used-by-elite-athletes-that-are-surprisingly-legal/ (http://roidvisor.com/performance-enhancing-drugs-used-by-elite-athletes-that-are-surprisingly-legal/)

Recently. I have done lots of work that has relied on my up to date technical knowledge, and you subscribe to update servies etc, but simply sometimes you just miss something important.  You think title x refers to thing A you already knew about, but sometimes it is referring to thing B. 

Of course Melodium is all over the internet today but wasn't going to be as prominent a few months ago.

And she may well be the Russian exception that proves the rule, and is the one with the genuine heart issue.

I simply can't believe she decided to ignore and not read properly the email from WADA with the updated drugs list in, she must have seen it.  It must be one of the top few things that every professional sports person has to look out for each year.  At the very least someone in her team should have seen or heard about it, she must mix with other people that would have received it.

"Sportswear company Nike said it was ending its association with Sharapova until investigations are complete.
Watch manufacturer Tag Heuer have already said it does not plan to extend its contract with the 2004 Wimbledon champion.
Porsche have also postponed planned activities with the player."

Its ridiculous suggesting she has a family doctor, she is a mulitmillion pound business but she still has a family doctor, not to mention a family doctor from the old country who prescribes unlicensed medication in her residence of 20 years. So lets give her that her family doctor is based in russia 10 years after she left, she surely has a medical team around her but neither her nor them ever take a simple look at her medication and put two and two together. Family is added as a manipulation of the mind of the reader.

Melodium is not prescribed for what she suggested she was taking it for, its serious medication for serious heart problems, incompatible with professional athletes (these heart problems wouldnt be compatible with professional sport). Her excuse doesnt add up to a doctor prescribing Melodium, which is why she has chucked in diabetes. While it has had some decent results in diabetic patients its unlikely you would prescribe a drug not for its purpose. Its the equivalent of you telling a bird you took viagra for heartburn. She seems to have thrown a bunch of conditions that loosely match the criteria for being prescribed it but very doubtfully make the threshold. Interesting other athletes caught have refused to admit they have took anything with the drug in. Suggests they knew it was too serious a medication for them to be taking.

Taking a drug to improve performance is cheating whether its on WADAs list or not. Taking a medication outside its purpose is surely cheating. WADA are finally catching up to the athletes.

Interesting whether serena williams would have got similar public willingness to believe.

There is a big gap between people taking a pause and giving her chance to speak and 100% believing what she says.  I would also add that doctors can, and do, prescribe drugs for a different purpose from that which they have approval.

Why bring Serena Williams in to this?

She didnt have it, she claims to have a family history, that wouldnt explain why you are taking it. There doesnt seem to be trials for its use on diabetes before she claims to have started taking it anyway. I wouldnt take insulin because my dad has diabetes. That a professional athlete would have a doctor who played pharmacy roulette isnt very realistic.

Meldonium also boosts the sexual prowess of boars apparently.

 :o

(http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdG1QZLW0AE-njU.jpg)



Nicked from twitter

Might have to see if any of my health team can do me a ticket :D

dont be so HARD on your self your not that BORING

;D

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35781391 (http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/35781391)

Cliffs

Played yesterday and lost
Playing full clay court season
No pain since January
Ranking is protected because of injury

Go Laura

Yes, I watched the match.
The wrist seemed fine which was great to see.
She's just very rusty and it may take some time for her to regain her form.
Rybarikova was a bit tight in the first set but once she won the tie-break comfortably, she loosened up and Robson struggled to keep up.

The clay season may be a bit of a struggle as it's not her best surface.
Her protected ranking can be used in 8 tournaments (including two Grand Slam events) within a year of her comeback.

She should be back in good nick just in time to win Nottingham. I've booked tickets for the week. :)

Are those tickets the ones which allow you free access all areas , including changing rooms ?

Not since the incident last year.

 ;D ;applause; ;karabiner; ;karabiner; ;karabiner;

Heather Watson says she's been tested only once as anti-doping setup criticised

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/11/heather-watson-tennis-drug-testing-international-tennis-federation

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdTKEoJWEAAU_-5.jpg)

Only once after winning.
She will have been tested a couple of times this year.
If her estimate of 50 total tests is correct she will have been tested about 10 time a year which is standard for top tennis players.

http://bbc.in/1VlOXiS


It's not clear how this would impact Maria Sharapova as she may have conceded that she took Meldonium after January 1 as part of her ongoing "treatment".