Tennis star Iga Swiatek accepts a 1-month suspension for a prohibited substance
Women’s tennis star Iga Swiatek, winner of five Grand Slams, has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Thursday.
Swiatek, ranked No. 1 in the world for most of the past two seasons, tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart drug better known as TMZ, in an out-of-competition test back in August.
The ITIA accepted his explanation that the results were unintentional, saying they were caused by contamination from an unapproved drug, melatonin, that he used for sleep and sleep problems.
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Iga Swiatek of Team Poland celebrates her victory against Irina-Camelia Bego of Team Romania during the Women’s Singles First Round on the first day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Roland Garros on July 27. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
ITIA said Swiatek’s level of error is “at the lower end of the range without material error or negligence.”
Swiatek was previously suspended from September 12 to October 4, missing three tournaments during that time – Korea Open, China Open and Wuhan Open – although he said at the time it was for personal reasons.
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Swiatek is only eight days away from the penalty, which he will receive while there is no competition.
Therefore, he will be allowed to return on Monday.
Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates his victory over Coco Gauff of the United States in the semifinals on Day 12 of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on June 6. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
Along with the suspension, Swiatek must forfeit $158,944 in prize money from the Cincinnati Open, which he played in after failing the test. He eventually lost in the semi-finals.
In an Instagram video, Swiatek reacted to ITIA’s decision, calling it “the worst experience of my life.”
“Two and a half months ago, I was facing a strong ITIA case, which confirmed my innocence,” Swiatek said in the video. “The only positive doping test of my career, showing an unbelievably low level of a banned substance I had never heard of before, called into question everything I had worked so hard for all my life.
“Both my team and I had to deal with a lot of stress and anxiety. Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate I can go back to what I love the most.”
Iga Swiatek practices before the Omnium Banque Nationale on Aug. 4, 2023. (Patrice Lapointe/Tennis Canada via Omnium Banque Nationale)
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Another high-profile doping case came in tennis with Jannik Sinner, who failed two steroid tests in March. He was finally eliminated in August before the US Open, where he went on to win his second Grand Slam.
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