【英语财经】三大企业叫停与莎娃赞助合同 Nike and TAG Heuer ditch Maria Sharapova after failed drugs test

Three of Maria Sharapova’s biggest corporate sponsors have suspended their contracts with the Russian tennis star after the former world number one revealed she had failed a drugs test at the Australian Open in January.

Sportswear group Nike and Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer said they had dropped their sponsorships, while carmaker Porsche said it would “postpone planned activities” with the player until further details were released.

Ms Sharapova — the world’s highest-paid female athlete — announced on Monday that she had tested positive for meldonium, an endurance-enhancing drug.

“I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” said the 28-year-old, who stormed on to the world stage in 2004 when she won Wimbledon aged 17.

“I know that with this, I face consequences,” she added. “I don’t want to end my career this way. I really hope that I will be given another chance to play this game.”

A rash of sports scandals has left sponsors increasingly nervous about the value of their deals with sports and individual athletes. Last month, Fifa, world football’s governing body, said its troubles had left a $550m hole in its budget though lost commercial opportunities. Adidas, the sportswear group, has ended its sponsorship deal with the IAAF, the world athletics body plagued by doping scandals.

前世界排名第一的网球选手玛丽亚?莎拉波娃(Maria Sharapova)宣布自己未能通过1月澳大利亚网球公开赛(Australian Open)的药检后，她的三大企业赞助商暂停了与这位俄罗斯网球明星的合同。

运动服饰集团耐克(Nike)与瑞士手表品牌泰格豪雅(Tag Heuer)表示已停止了赞助。汽车制造商保时捷(Porsche)表示在进一步细节公开前，会“推迟与这位球员的计划活动”。

全球收入最高的女运动员莎拉波娃在周一宣布，由于服用米屈肼(meldonium)——一种提高耐力的药物——导致她的药检呈阳性。

28岁的莎拉波娃说：“我没能通过药检，我将承担全部责任。”2004年，17岁的莎娃赢得温网，就此冲进世界舞台。

她还表示：“我知道自己因此将面对的后果。我不想就这样结束自己的职业生涯。我真的希望能再得到一次机会，继续参与这项运动。”

体育界爆出的一连串丑闻，让赞助商越来越担心它们与体育项目和运动员个人所签署的协议的价值。上个月世界足球管理机构国际足联(Fifa)表示，它所遇到的麻烦给其预算造成了5.5亿美元的缺口，还让其失去了商业机会。国际田联(IAAF)卷入兴奋剂丑闻后，运动服饰集团阿迪达斯(Adidas)终止了与这家世界田径机构的赞助合同。

译者/何黎