LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates winning her Ladies Singles Quarter Final match against Coco Vandeweghe of the United States during day eight of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 7, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova hailed the reduction of her two-year doping ban as one of the “happiest days” of her life, immediately targeting a return to action in April 2017.

The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cut to 15 monthsSharapova’s ban imposed by an independent tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation for testing positive for meldonium.

The 29-year-old tested positive for the banned medication meldonium during January’s Australian Open, throwing her glittering career — 35 WTA singles titles and more than $US36 million in career earnings — into serious jeopardy.

In its verdict, the CAS “found that Ms Sharapova committed an anti-doping rule violation and that while it was with ‘no significant fault’, she bore some degree of fault, for which a sanction of 15 months is appropriate”.