The five-time Grand Slam champion  Maria Sharapova has been banned by the International Tennis Federation for testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova was provisionally suspended by the ITF in early March, when she failed a doping test in January.

The 29-year-old tennis star said, she will appeal the two-year doping ban handed down to her by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for doping.

She was not aware that the World Anti-Doping Agency had barred athletes from using meldonium, also known as mildronate, Sharapova said.

Sharapova wrote on her Facebook page, that, "While the tribunal concluded correctly that I did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules, I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension."

"The tribunal, whose members were selected by the ITF, agreed that I did not do anything intentionally wrong, yet they seek to keep me from playing tennis for two years. I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

Also Read: Novak Djokovic to become first man to win $100 million in prize money

Nandini