Sharapova won it all in the Serena era

Former world No 1 Maria Sharapova was handed a two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation on Wednesday following her positive test for the banned drug meldonium at this year's Australian Open.

In a statement, the ITF said the 29-year-old Russian, a five-time Grand Slam champion, ‘is the sole author of her own misfortune'.

Sharapova denounced the two-year ban as 'unfairly harsh' and said she would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

She was hoping to compete for Russia at the Rio Olympic Games.

Following the ban, which could also end of the career of the richest female athlete of the past decade, here's a look at the high points in Sharapova's career.

First tour title

After turning professional in 2001, Sharapova won her first tour title in Tokyo in 2003 and finished inside the top 50 for first time.

Won Wimbledon at the aged of 17

Sharapova announced her arrival on to the world stage in stunning fashion with a famous victory at Wimbledon 2004 when she was only 17, beating holder Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 in the final.

Number one in the world

After building on her first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon with some deep runs into the early 2005 majors, she raced up the rankings and reached the summit in August 2005, becoming the first Russian woman to top the world rankings.

Career Grand Slam

In 2006, Sharapova won her second Grand Slam after defeating second seed Justine Henin 6-4, 6-4 in the US Open final.

In 2008, she beat Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-3 to win her third Grand Slam title and first Australian Open.

In 2012, she became the 10th woman to complete the career Grand Slam when she won the French Open for the first time. In the process, she put her name alongside tennis greats like Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.

She defeated Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 in the final to complete her collection of Grand Slam trophies.

She also won a silver medal in her Olympic debut at the 2012 Games in London, losing to Serena Williams 6-0, 6-1 in the final.

Highest-paid female athlete

The highest-paid female athlete for 11 years, Sharapova earned much of her income through sponsor endorsements.

This year, though, Serena Williams narrowly edged her.

Sharapova, the businesswoman

Her ferocity on the court, business acumen and glamorous looks combined to make her a marketing juggernaut and the overseer of successful ventures as her Sugarpova sweets.

Sharapova has more than 15 million fans and is the most followed female athlete on Facebook. S

She is one of tennis' biggest brands and one of the world's highest remunerated female sports stars, counting Porsche, Tag Heuer and Evian among her sponsors over the course of her career, earning her an estimated $20m per year (£14m).