Women's tennis icon Maria Sharapova announces she failed a doping test at the Australian Open

Of all the theories, real and imagined, that floated around social media with the announcement that Maria Sharapova would be holding a press conference Monday at noon in Los Angeles – and streaming it live on YouTube –  the reality was actually more dramatic.

The 28-year-old tennis icon announced that she had failed a doping test at the Australian Open in January.

The ITF confirmed the news Monday, adding that Sharapova will be provisionally suspended as of March 12 pending the determination of the case.

Sharapova said it was important to note that for the 10 years she had been taking the medication, it was not on the banned substance list.

But as of 2016, it is.

Sharapova said she received an e-mail on Dec. 22 from the ITF detailing the changes for the prohibited substance list for 2016, as well as details on the whereabouts requirements.

There was a link to click on to see the added prohibited items for 2016.

Sharapova, the ultimate professional, the master of every single detail when it comes to her tennis and off-court life, did not click on it.

She had been taking the medication since 2006.

“I had several health issues going on at the time, getting sick very often: a magnesium deficiency, irregular EKG results and a family history of diabetes, with first signs of diabetes, and that was one of the medications, along with several others, that I had received,” she said.

The Russian has played little in the last eight months because of a nagging forearm injury; she said she doesn’t yet know what the suspension might be.

“It’s very new to me. I just received the letter a few days ago, and I will be working with the ITF,” she said

Sharapova made that sound like some sort of cooperative effort, which of course it isn’t. The ITF isn't one of her business partners, and the anti-doping program is not a cooperative venture.

No doubt she will appeal whatever suspension is handed down, and these cases tend to go all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It’s a long process.

It is going to test the very competitive and tenuous connection between the various tennis bodies to the limit.

The International Tennis Federation administers the anti-doping program. It is a separate organization to the WTA Tour.

Sharapova, along with Serena Williams, are the only two bona-fide crossover stars that women’s tennis has. That this happens to one of them is a huge deal; without Sharapova, the WTA loses a serious marquee player. No doubt the pressure from the WTA to the ITF to treat this case with more care than positive doping tests from the rank-and-file will be extreme. But it shouldn't be effective.

Sharapova may not be a cheater. But she cheated, unwittingly or not. She takes full responsibility for it, which of course doesn't change the process.

What's more shocking is that while she has always paid to every detail of her career – one of the reasons she has been so very successful – she took her eye off the ball on this one. Big time. And it's going to cost her a whole lot.

The press conference was carried live on the Tennis Channel in the U.S. and also on ESPN2. Sharapova’s parents, Yuri and Yelena, were in attendance – which told you right away it was something serious, lending a little more credence to the unfounded retirement rumours.

Father Yuri, who was her first coach, has rarely been seen since he stepped aside a few years ago. Mother Yelena has hardly ever been seen at all; she’s not the type of tennis mother who travels the circuit with her daughter.

It turned out to be even worse.

The next developments in this story will be fascinating.

“I know many of you thought I would be retiring today, but if I were ever going to announce my retirement, it wouldn’t be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet,” Sharapova said.

It took about seven minutes, and Sharapova took a few questions. And then she was gone.

When she will return? That’s anyone’s guess at the moment.