Counting the days until I can return to the court, says Maria Sharapova

“I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova hailed the reduction of her two-year doping ban on Tuesday as ‘one of my happiest days’.

FILE PHOTO - Maria Sharapova is eligible to play from April 26, 2017. (REUTERS)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cut her ban imposed by an independent tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation for testing positive for meldonium to 15 months.

“I’ve gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April (2017),” Sharapova said in a Facebook post.

Sharapova, a five-times grand slam champion, was originally handed a two-year ban - backdated to start on Jan. 26, 2016 - by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in June following a positive test for the drug meldonium.