By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, December 27, 2024
Photo credit: Simon Bruty/US Open/USTA
Few opponents frighten Iga Swiatek.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek shared the biggest fear she suffered in the aftermath of serving a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August.
Pegula: Swiatek Case Evokes Faith and Frustration
Swiatek says she was scared of potential public reaction and isolation after her suspension.
But the world No. 2 reports she’s received primarily positive support since news of her suspension broke.
“I think their response has been more positive than I thought. I think people are, most of them, are understanding, and the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on,” Swiatek told the media at Team Poland’s United Cup presser. “I try to just go on with my life and focus on different things, focus on preparing for the season and on tennis, because this is the best thing you can do after a case like that.
“But overall, the reaction in Poland basically, because this is mostly what I read, has been pretty, you know, supportive. I really, really appreciate that, because even when I miss China swing and nobody knew why, it wasn’t so easy. So after my case was, the information about my case were released, you know, I was scared that most of the people are going to turn their back on me. But I felt the support, and it’s great.”
In a Thanksgiving Day announcement, the International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted that Swiatek’s assertion her positive test was caused by the contamination of a regulated non-prescription medication (Melatonin), manufactured and sold in Poland that the player had been taking for jet lag and sleep issues.
According to the ITIA, Swiatek’s level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence’.
Swiatek, who was reinstated on December 8th, missed the Asian swing and forfeited prize money she earned from her run to the Cincinnati Open semifinals. Cincinnati was the tournament the Pole played immediately after her positive test for TMZ.
Asked at the United Cup if she fears WADA appealing her case as it has done in the case of men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Swiatek said she while she’s not expecting an appeal, “I have no influence on what’s going to happen.”
Because she was suspended, missed the Asian swing and subsequently lost her world No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka, her Cincinnati conqueror, Swiatek said she does not anticipate WADA appealing her case.
“I don’t think there is any reason, because I didn’t play three tournaments,” Swiatek said. “I was suspended for a long time, and I lost No. 1, you know, because of that. I also know how the procedure worked, and I gave every possible evidence and there is not much, honestly, to do more. So I don’t know, there is no point to do an appeal in our opinion.”
Statement from the WTA:The WTA acknowledges the decision by the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) – which administers the Tennis Anti-Doping Program (TADP) – in issuing a one-month suspension to Iga Swiatek, following the identification of a contaminated…
— wta (@WTA) November 28, 2024
The reigning Roland Garros champion called her experience “a fair process” and said she trusts the ITIA will “treat every player the same way.”
“So I’m not expecting an appeal, but I have kind of no influence on what’s going to happen,” Swiatek said. “But I can say from the processes that I went through and how they treated me from the beginning, that it seemed fair for me. I managed to give the source pretty quickly. That’s why the case closed, you know, pretty quickly.
“But still, I didn’t play tournaments, and I kind of, I got a fine, small one, symbolic one, but it’s over now. So I guess, in my opinion, it was a fair process, and I trust ITIA that any case they do, they’re going to treat every player the same way and fairly.”
