Sports tribunal reduces Sharapova doping ban by nine months

An arbitration panel "found that Ms Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with 'no significant fault', she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of fifteen months is appropriate," Switzerland-based CAS said in a statement. The ban took effect from Jan. 26, 2016.

Five-times grand slam winner Sharapova was banned by the International Tennis Federation in June following a positive test for the banned drug meldonium during January's Australian Open.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin, Editing by Michael Shields)