You know, in el salvador or japan to australia to all over europe to america. Its incredible having this global connection. Rose social media, get ready. Maria sharapova and steve aoki, when we continue. Rose funding for charlie rose has been provided by the following and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and Information Services worldwide. Captioning sponsored by Rose Communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. Rose Maria Sharapova is here. She is a fivetime grandslam tennis champion and one of the worlds highest paid and highest profiled athletes. In january she tested positive for meldonium, a matter medication recently banned by antidoping regulators. Show disclosed the infraction during a News Conference in march. I wanted to let you know that, a few days ago, i received a letter from the i. T. F. That i had failed the drug test at the australian open. I did fail the test, and i take full responsibility for it. Rose in june, the International Tennis federation banned sharapova from competition for two years. Today the court of arbitration for sports cas announced it was reducing her suspension by nine months. It ruled the i. T. F. s penalty went too far for a violation committed unintentionally. Sharapova is to return to tennis in april in time for the french open and the u. S. Open. Thank you for coming. Thank you for having me. Rose tell me about this. Friday morning was a Beautiful Day for me and my family and friends and just the thought of coming back, i was in my bedroom and i received the note from cas and i screamed to my mother im coming back. The last seven months or so i have been really strong. I knew i had to. She came up and ran up the stairs and i gave her a hug and, all of a sudden, i was so emotional. Everything let go because something i wanted so much, i was having another opportunity at it. Rose how heavy did it hang on you, the twoyear suspension . It was a lot, and it was i went through so many different emotions from finding out when i received the first email that i had taken the substance and it was a shock to me. I said, how did i not know about this . So i went through this shock, anger, sadness, and then, i dont know, something inside of me went above everything and i felt it was almost like the process of going through a breakup. Rose a breakup . Yes. I went through all these emotions, and, in the end, after a little time, i just felt really above it. Theres some sort of strength in me that just felt really good about things, and i went through two different hearings, and obviously, i was very nervous about all of them, but i was so strong inside, and i knew that the truth of my story and me being up front and honest from the beginning would get me through this, and it did. Rose it came after investigation, as you suggest, that you testified and some of your team testified and they looked carefully into it. Is it for you a repudiation of the International Tennis federation . It is. Its sad to say that, but i think it really is. I feel that, in many ways, you know, i have this Incredible Opportunity to play tennis again, but what i went through and, as i said, when i received the email back in march, i was so shocked in the first place because i was taking a substance that was completely league fortunately ten years that a doctor recommended for me after so many different medical tests. I was 18 years old. I had won a grand slam and, all of a sudden, im signature in my bedroom and i get an email from the i. T. F. Saying i had this violation. Rose after the australian open. Yes, a month after. Rose the testing took place at the australian open. Yes. And i thought, how could i not have known this . There are so many ways that i could have known and i did not. Ive had a lot of time to think about it, and, obviously, i think i took it for granted that i became comfortable with the fact that it was just natural for me to take something thats completely legal, that i was getting Laboratory Reports from moscow and confirmation that it was legal. Rose this was prescribed for you by your doctor in moscow. It actually wasnt prescribed. It was an overthecounter product. Rose he suggested you use it for diabetes possibilities and heart issues . Mostly because i had irregular ekgs when i was 18 years old and they were quite concerned wit and it came after all the physical demand i started receiving after winning a big major, playing for tournaments, teenager at the time. Went to a doctor, never had a doctor before, and i was, like, well, im going home. I basically dont want to practice for a week. This is not the normal feeling for an 18yearold. So my parents are, like, we should probably find a doctor to do bloodwork to do some examinations. After doing all that rose it was called meldonium at the time . I always have known it as mildronate. When i saw it in march and saw meldonium, i googled meldonium. I had no clue. I had always seen it as mildronate. Thats what hundreds of millions of people in russia see it as. Rose but not used here or in europe as well, just in russia and other countries is this. The majority of middle eastern countries, millions of people, and my grandparents take it. Rose do you consider it a performance enhancer. Absolutely not. Rose you dont . Even now, you dont think it has the possibility of enhancing performance . No, because i know how common it is. I know how common it is. I know its on the vital and essential list in russia which protects along with ibuprofen. Its taken as as prison in russia. To me, i cant even grasp my head around that fact. When i first started taking it, i took it under my Doctors Orders and how i kept taking it for years. Rose one issue is why didnt you know. Right. Rose they sent you a notification in december. Might somebody in your team who knew you were taking this there were others who knew you were taking it right. Rose why didnt they know . Because the notif notificatis were completely inadequate. It was false advertisement. The emails that we had received saying main changes to the antidoping rules had no additions to the prohibitive list, no signs, no warnings. If you look at the other federations, weight lifting, figure skating, if i was in that association or part of that federation, none of this would have happened. Rose more significant set of warnings in the other sports. There were no warnings, no one. Rose they have said clearly and they have said a number of things as a result of the investigation, the report they had today, they said they rejected the core argument you were significantly at fault for taking a prohibitive substance to enhance performance, that you did not try to hide the use, that you took it in good faith over a long period of time. They said among other things this was not about an athlete who cheated. Under no circumstances could you be considered an international doper. So the question has to do with their motive, in part. How could they be so believe that this, in your words, deserve a 24month suspension . Well, i got a 24month suspension, but they wanted four years for me, charlie. Rose they wanted four years. The i. T. F. Wanted to ban me for four years, and i went through the i. T. F. Hearing, which in front of an arbitration that was chosen by the i. T. F. So im in a hearing knowing that the people im speaking to this was four or five months back in london the people im speaking to were chosen p by the people that im actually in a fight with. So im not sure they call that neutral . Thats not neutral. Cas is neutral and that was awarded to me. Rose do you think theyre trying to make an example of you . I never wanted to believe that, but im starting to think that. Rose someone used the expression paul poppy. Never heard that expression. Rose the suggestion you were perhaps in the minds of some, saying doping has no place no matter how strong or celebrated the person was, if they thought they were using drug enhancement, theyd take them down. Right. Hard for me to speak for them. I think i know what i was fighting against, and i was fighting well, i was fighting for my right to get back to the court by making an honest mistake, but i was also fighting an organization that wanted to ban me for four years, and that was wrong because they didnt do their part. From the beginning, i came out two or three days after i got that letter about the violation. I came out to the world and i explained my story and im proud of that. Rose because you wanted to control your own case. I mean, you wanted to make sure that no, because when i saw that, i knew i wanted the world to know. There is no way i was going to tell people im injured or let me pretend its something its not. This is it. Rose you wanted to take command of it yourself. Yes, and i owed it to my fans, i mean fans that wake up in the middle of the night to watch me play, that supported me and who have died during my matches, i owed that to them, yes. Rose two aspects of this, one, as you were going through this, did you find people who you expected to support you didnt . You know what i learned is i think ive always been an athlete that ive said this from the beginning if my career, i never personally had a role model when i grew up. I watched television, but there was never a person who i said i want to be just like them. As i have been going through my career and young boys and girls would come up and say i want to be just like you, i would say, no, you want to be better than me. Dream to be even better than i ever was. But during this process, i really realized how impactful my career has been towards millions of people and how it impacted young girls and boys and older generations that have watched me through a 17yearold girl till now, how much theyve admired me, the amount of people that have stopped me in the last seven months is more than i ever have seen in my life saying i hope you get through this, you absolutely deserve to get back, you never deserved to get punished like this by the i. T. F. , this is wrong. The amount of people i didnt know in Different Industries contacted me, emailed me, showed their support, and i think thats when i realized that, you know, i always try to maybe i was a little bit naive about everything, my accomplishments and how it impacted so many peoples lives, and have inspired them, and it made me realize that, no, you set an example and thats why i was proud to have the fact that it came out and was able to say that. Rose were your sponsors and the people you have endorsement contracts with fully supportive from day one, or did they pull back and say lets see this through . My sponsors have been incredible, and i must admit it was difficult in the beginning because none of them knew until my announcement. Rose didnt know about it until until i came forward, until my press conference. So from that point of view, it was a shock to everyone, as im sure. But i wanted it to come from me and not from anyone else and thats why, for three days, only a small group of people knew about it. Nike made a pretty tough statement, and it was hard. I have been with them since i was eleven years old. Rose what did they say . I dont remember word by word, but it was aggressive in the way that they have been through a lot with athletes, and i took it personal because i considered them my family. I mean, i have a lot of pride in being part of their family, so it took a little bit of time to speak to mark parker about, you know, what happened. Rose and then when you told him . We had a great conversation, and hes been amazing and, yeah, all my sponsors have been incredibly supportive. Rose so you will not lose any sponsors because of this . I hope not. Rose but the interesting question, too, is that, you know, a remarkable career, but to be away for 24 months could have had and youre, what, 29, yes . I am 29. Dont say it like that. Rose well, no, but you have a remarkable career. But this kind of absence, if it had been two years or four years, could have had an incredible impact on your career. It could be over. Absolutely. My career was never going to end this way. Never. From the first day i got that letter, that was when i started my comeback. I started my comeback in march. Rose did you ever doubt you would be sitting here today feeling very good about the future . I never doubted that i would be back. I certainly had tough days and negative days, and i went through the ups and downs. Rose who did you depend on when those days are bad . Your mother . My mother. My mother and my father, my team, a very small group of people. My coach has been amazing through this whole process. I feel there are people in my career and in my life at this time for certain reasons and one of them was this. Rose let me talk about the career. You were born in chernobyl. I was. Rose and then my mother was pregnant with me for eight months about 30 kilometers from the explosion. Rose and you left chernobyl. Left chernobyl. I was in belarus and we fled to russia when my mother was pregnant. I was born in the north in siberia, and when i was two we moved to s so sochi, a much warr place. I started playing tennis when i was 4. When i was 5 and a half or six, someone in sochi at a tennis park, i went with my dad and he played recreationally, they said i had talent. Ip not sure how anyone could say that of a 6yearold girl. But there was an exhibition and they said why dont you be a part of it . So my father and i went, and i was on court with hundreds of kids. It was chaos, and she was, you know, feed ago few balls to the kids, having a little chat, and im not exactly sure what happened, but the next thing you know, i did see her coming up to my dad and having a conversation, and i think what she said was that she thought that i had talent and that we should do something about it. A year and a half later we were on our flight to miami. Rose on your way to see nick balateri. Yes. Rose and he didnt take you at first glance. It took you two years. I think we went to a few different academies, kind of knocked on everyones door unexpectedly, heres a 7yearold girl and she wants to play tennis and she has this dream, and ive never been back to russia ever since to live. Rose never been back . Not to live, no. Rose your mother came later . Yes. I came with my father because he got a working visa and i joined him as someone who could at that time with that type of visa and my mom couldnt come for the first two years, so i didnt see her for the first two years. I couldnt go back and in and out of the country. Rose you had to communicate any way you could . Yeah, at that time i believe it was regular mail. Rose when did you know you had the right stuff, that you could win competitively against some of the best players in the world . I dont like to ever know that, because thats what keeps me motivated. Thats what keeps me on the edge. I never feel that im great. People ask me the question about legacy and grand slam champion, been number one in the world, and i go to a tournament as if i never won it. I feel i have to have the edge in a way where i inspire my ownself, and thats how i do it. Rose you won garis twice so the next time we see you play competitively is rolan garis. That will be my first time back. Rose tell me how you see your game today. I havent seen it in months, so i dont know what to say about that. I havent thought about my game in a while. Rose so this has preoccupied you since you got the phone call from them. Yeah. Well, i have been very occupied. I actually havent been home that much. Ive traveled a lot. Ive done things that i just never that did the opportunity to do, and in a time where i never where i didnt know what my future would be or had so many questions. I actually felt i had a schedule and a plan and i never knew what weekends felt like. For the first time i know that theres a saturday and a sunday and im actually looking forward to the days whereas before your mindset are so different the weekends are grand slam finals and thats what youre working for and that perfective changed and also in terms of training. I have been training in a different way where im not training for a tournament. Im not training to get back in a few months. I was just training for myself. Rose and whats that like . Felt so good. It felt so good because youre doing it for you. Youre doing it to feel good. And i feel that how i set the tone was the day after i had made the announcement. It was a very long night, as you can imagine. I didnt get much sleep. I signed up for a spinning class at 8 30 a. M. , and i knew it might have been wishful thinking, but at least if i sign up, i wont be able to get a refund. So im going to go for it. And about 7 45, i called my coach and i said, i dont think im going to make this class, because he was in town with me. And something and hes, like, okay, obviously, its understandable. At 8 00 a. M. I got out of bed and i said, im going. I set the standard for myself that i was going to push the limit and push myself, and i went there and for an hour of that class, ifs miserable because i had no energy, i had one of the longest days in my career, but i pushed through it, and i felt like that set the tone for my body, for my mind and, ever since, i have been doing different workouts, i have been training differently, and its all been for me. Rose so you feel like some of the best tennis may be ahead of you . I hope so. I know that today, yesterday got the best gifts that i could have gotten for my 30th birthday. Rose you had some reason to believe that they would reduce the suspension, simply based on what theyd done in the past. Im sure john the attorney had said, you know, they have done this in the past and with some variety of occasions. But you never know. You never know. Thats look, the i. T. F. s tribunal in the past has been overruled by cas the last six times including my case. So, of course, you can be optimistic and hopeful, but rose but its your life and career thats at stake. Yeah, and, you know, you can go into it thinking, yes, i went into the cas hearing with a different mindset. I went into it as, you know what . This is my career on the line and im going to do something about it. Yeah. I think it was more of an internal feeling. Rose do you feel like its a fair description of you to say be defined as tough in the face of adversity, that somehow the kind of life that you have lived has given you some of that stuff . I believe so, and ive never used the word rejection in my life. I dont believe in rejection. I dont believe in nos. I just get through it. I was born to be a warrior, and in tennis and in my life. Rose how were you born to be a warrior . Because there is something, when ive had challenges in my life, ive persevered, and thats not just in me. I feel whether youre a tennis player or other career, when you have challenging moments in your life my first came when i had shoulder surgery, i was out for a year and there is something that build and you dont know its happening, its something inside i don of you that buildd almost becomes an immunity to pain, almost. During that time, i was training and doing eve