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 The 28-year-old Russian will be provisionally suspended by the
International Tennis Federation (ITF) from this weekend after she
admitted at a news conference on Monday taking the banned substance
meldonium.
Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer cut ties with Sharapova this week, while
Nike and Porsche have distanced themselves from her.
However, Eliasch said Sharapova, under contract with Head since
2011, had 'earned the benefit of the doubt' after making an 'honest'
mistake.
"For a decade Maria Sharapova has been a role model and woman of
integrity who has inspired millions of fans around the world to play
and watch tennis," he said in a statement.
"The honesty and courage she displayed in announcing and
acknowledging her mistake was admirable. HEAD is proud to stand
behind Maria, now and into the future and we intend to extend her
contract.
"We look forward to working with her and to announcing new
sponsorships in the weeks and months ahead."
A statement issued later confirmed that the contract had been signed
and extended.
In Los Angeles on Monday, Sharapova said she had been taking
meldonium, also known as mildronate, for 10 years because of health
problems and regular bouts of flu.
The drug, produced in Latvia but unavailable for purchase in the
United States where Sharapova is based, was only added to the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances in January,
shortly before her positive test in Melbourne.
Manufactured for people suffering from heart problems, it can also
increase blood flow and improve exercise capacity.
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Head said they were convinced Sharapova had not taken the drug to
gain any competitive advantage.
"It is common ground within the scientific community that in order
for meldonium to have any relevant performance enhancing effect it
has to be taken in daily dosages in excess of 1,000 to 2,000mg," the
statement said.
"According to the attorney for Maria, her dosage was significantly
less than that."
While underlining Head's commitment to clean sport, Eliasch said he
trusted Sharapova's explanation that she had not realized meldonium
had been banned by WADA.
"In the absence of any evidence of any intent by Maria of enhancing
her performance or trying to gain an unfair advantage through the
use of mildronate, we further conclude this falls into the category
of 'honest' mistakes," he said.
Russian biathlete Eduard Latypov was suspended from competition on
Thursday after testing positive for meldonium, the latest in a
flurry of athletes to fall foul of the drug since it was prohibited.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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