Here are some photos of Maria Sharapova on Wednesday in Santa Monica, California. She was only two days removed from her public admission that she had tested positive for a banned substance. And it seemed like just another day for Maria. The thing is, I’m pretty sure this was a set-up photo shoot. Look at the Nike gear that’s clearly visible. Look at how she’s posing with the tennis racket. She called the paps – or someone on her team called the paps – to show her sponsors that she can still shill, that she can still make money for them. But can she?

As the days pass, Sharapova’s original story keeps falling apart. It really doesn’t look good. Vanity Fair ran a great piece about why Sharapova’s story doesn’t make much sense – she originally said she had been taking meldonium for 10 years because a heart condition and some concerns about diabetes. Except that the main features of meldonium are that it increases oxygen uptake and endurance. Also, a Latvian pharmaceutical company that produces meldonium said “patients usually require a four-to-six-week course of treatment that may be repeated twice a year, not a decade of continuous use.” And, as we already heard, Sharapova’s excuse of willful ignorance – she claims she simply did not click on a link – was bulls—t too. There were widespread reports, emails and warnings about the banning of meldonium.

USA Today also had a great piece about the pervasive usage of meldonium among Russian and Eastern European athletes. Did you know that meldonium isn’t even available in the US, which is where Sharapova lives full-time now? Meaning she had to go to Russia or Latvia or wherever to get the drug (which, again, she was taking on a daily basis for a decade), and then what? Illegally importing it into the US?

Vanity Fair also pointed out that so far, American Express, Avon and Evian haven’t suspended her contracts… yet. But they will likely do so. It’s also looking more and more like Sharapova will be suspended for a lengthy period of time, and that this is the ignoble end of her tennis career.

Final Sharapova-related stories: Andy Murray isn’t buying what Sharapova is selling. Murray told the BBC yesterday: “Clearly if you are taking performance-enhancing drugs and you fail a drugs test, you have to get suspended. I think since 1 January there have been 55 different athletes who have failed tests for meldonium. I find it strange that there’s a prescription drug used for heart conditions and so many athletes competing at the top level of their sport would have that condition. That sounds a bit off to me.” Murray also said that the International Tennis Federation needs to be better at testing players consistently. Oh, and Rafael Nadal thinks Sharapova needs to be punished too.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.