Four-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova has had her doping suspension reduced after successfully appealing against a two-year ban.

While the women’s star will miss the Australian Open, she will be back on court from April 26, 2017 after her 24-month ban was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) in an announcement at midnight Tuesday (AEST).

The ruling comes more than seven months after Sharapova tested positive for the banned substance meldonium following a quarter-final loss to Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

The news was a shock to sports fans when Sharapova revealed the test in a March press conference, where she was initially expected to announce her retirement.

The International Tennis Federation found she “bore significant fault for her violation” and handed her a two year ban, disqualified her Australian Open results and forfeited her ranking points and prize money from the event.

Sharapova appealed to CAS on the basis that she bore: “no significant fault or negligence” and asked that she be allowed to resume playing immediately.

In its findings released Wednesday, the CAS panel ruled Sharapova bore some blame because she failed to give her agent adequate instructions as to how to check the World Anti-Doping Prohibited List

The CAS panel also noted that Sharapova failed to disclose her use of meldonium on her doping control forms.

“For these reasons, the Player’s fault is greater than the minimum degree of fault falling within NSF [no significant fault], but … less than Significant Fault,: the CAS findings said. “Accordingly, the panel has determined … that a sanction of fifteen 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault.”

In March, Sharapova revealed she had been taking meldonium for 10 years for a magnesium deficiency and that she was not aware it was added to WADA’s banned list at the start of January 1, 2016.

Her attempt to justify the use of the substance – an anti-ischemic drug that improves circulation and is usded to treat heart conditions – backfired.

Many players on the professional tennis tour criticised her, with Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova the most vocal.

“I don’t miss her on the tour. She’s a totally unlikeable person. Arrogant, conceited and cold,” Cibulkova said.

Others, like Petra Kvitova, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, said Sharapova must face the penalties that were coming her way.

Sharapova’s sponsors jumped off quickly, with the likes of Nike, Porsche and TAG Heuer ending their involvement with the Russian.

After the ITF hearing in May saw her banned for two years, she immediately announced plans to appeal.

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

“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.

Sharapova has kept herself fit despite her ban. Photo: Splash News Australia

“I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

WADA backtracked on its meldonium stance in may when it said: “In the case of meldonium, there is currently a lack of clear scientific information on excretion times.”

They added that because of that reason, if they could not prove whether an athlete had taken the banned substance after January 1, grounds for no fault of negligence may exist.