Iga Swiatek is officially no longer a suspended player after her doping ban expired on Wednesday and the International Tennis Integrity Agency removed her from their sanctions list.
Last Thursday, the ITIA announced that the five-time Grand Slam champion provided a sample in August which came back as positive for a banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ). As a result, she was handed a provisional suspension on September 12th but was able to quickly determine how it happened – prove that she was a victim of a contaminated medication – and her appeal was successful.
Still, the ITIA decided to give her a symbolical one-month ban, starting on November 27. However, since she already served 22 days during her provisional ban, only eight more days were left to serve. With that being said, December 4th was officially the last day of her suspension.
And now when you type in Swiatek’s name in the ITIA’s sanctions category, you can’t find her anymore on the list.
ITIA sanction list© ITIA
The ITIA didn’t think that Swiatek warranted major suspension
After being notified about failing a doping test, the world No. 2 was left absolutely shocked but she also needed to act quickly. And that included doing everything possible to determine how TMZ ended up in her system. Eventually, the Pole’s team figured out that it came via melatonin medication she was using in early August to treat jet lag and stress issues.
Swiatek then appealed in her doping case and the ITIA accepted her explanation, which resulted in her provisional suspension coming to an end but the final verdict hadn’t yet been reached. In the end, the ITIA determined that the 23-year-old’s fault was “at the lowest range” and since it was already ruled that she didn’t intentionally take a banned substance, the integrity agency didn’t feel there was enough to suspend the former world No. 1 over a longer period of time.
“The ITIA accepted that the 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, and that the violation was therefore not intentional. This followed interviews with the player and their entourage, investigations, and analysis from two WADA-accredited laboratories,” the ITIA said.
“In relation to the player’s level of fault, as the contaminated product was a regulated non-prescription medication in the player’s country of origin and purchase and considering all the circumstances of its use (and other contaminated product cases under the World Anti-Doping Code), the player’s level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence.’”
Iga Swiatek© WTA Finals Riyadh/Instagram – Fair Use
Swiatek didn’t feel well at all and was left traumatized
In a video uploaded on her Instagram, the Polish tennis star said she “cried a lot” because she was dealing with massive stress and anxiety, which very negatively impacted her mental health and sleep. After it was all finished and she avoided the worst-case scenario, she insisted that “proving my innocence” was the most important thing.
“What mattered most for me was to prove my innocence. Now that the whole thing is drawing to a close, I was put on a symbolic one-month suspension. 22 days are behind me, eight days still to go. That means I can start the new season with a clean slate, focused on what I’ve always done, playing tennis,” Swiatek said.
The four-time French Open winner may have won her case but battling a positive doping test was all but a pleasant experience.
“The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life. It took a lot of strength, returning to training after this situation nearly broke my heart. There were many tears and lots of sleepless nights. The worst part of it was uncertainty. I didn’t know what was going to happen with my career, how things would end or if I would be allowed to play tennis at all, which is why I am so grateful to my family and my team. People who stood by me, no matter what, right from the very beginning. Everyone got together to help me,” she admitted.
In that same video, Swiatek also admitted that she was a bit worried some may look at her differently now – and she absolutely doesn’t want that to happen.
“I have a sense this situation could undermine the image I’ve been building for years. Which is why I hope you will understand what happened, understand how I had no control over it, and could do nothing to prevent this unfortunate turn of events,” the 23-year-old said.
Tennis World USA