Richard Gasquet is ripping the International Tennis Integrity Agency for “poorly managing” the Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner cases as the 38-year-old says the authorities need to be transparent about these type of cases from Day 1.
In late August, it was announced that the ATP world No. 1 failed two doping tests in March but that he was allowed to keep playing after quickly proving that the spray that was used on him was contaminated with a benned substance. Later, the investigation cleared the Italian tennis star and he avoided suspension.
This past Thursday, the ITIA revealed that Swiatek tested positive for a banned substance in August and was notified about it after the US Open. But unlike in the Sinner case, the Pole did get a provisional suspension but it lasted for only 22 days after she was able to prove that her melatonin medication was contaminated with a prohibited substance and that she didn’t know about it. At the same time, it was announced that the five-time Grand Slam champion accepted a one-month ban, which will expire in the next couple of days.
“I think that all sports are quite difficult. All sports can at some point have doping. Tennis can be part of it. Obviously, there was cycling. Now, there is tennis… Anything is possible. What worries me the most is that we don’t really understand how it’s going to happen. You find out about it afterwards! Normally, there’s a trial, then you have a deliberation, you have a sentence. Now, we’re learning everything at the same time and that’s not normal, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not up to par,” Gasquet told La Depeche.
Richard Gasquet© Richard Gasquet/Instagram – Fair Use
Gasquet didn’t like that the Swiatek, Sinner cases were kept in the dark
Usually when a player fails a doping test, the ITIA announces it along with a provisional suspension for a player. But in the high-profile cases of the WTA world No. 2 and the Italian two-time Grand Slam champion, no one knew anything until the investigations were fully concluded.
Gasquet, who is 38 years old and has been on the Tour since 2002, suggests that wasn’t fair.
“I think the case is very poorly managed. You suddenly learn, ‘Hey, he’s been judged.’ During this time, nothing happened, we didn’t know anything. It’s not normal, it’s not professional. Afterwards, the case itself, I don’t know anything about it, I haven’t looked too much. Anyway, it was poorly managed, poorly fought and poorly done, that’s a certainty. Sports justice is full of amateurs. There’s a cacophony. We all learn it at the same time and no one knows nothing. That doesn’t sound professional at all. Everyone says it. It’s a bit grotesque,” the Frenchman added.
Even before Gasquet said it publicly, many brought up this argument. And this argument is often used by those who allege that double standards played a role in how their cases were investigated.
What the ITIA said about about the Swiatek case?
After pleading her defense and showing evidence, the ITIA accepted the Pole’s explanation. Also, they said the 23-year-old’s fault was “at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence.”
“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© Polski Zwiazek Tenisowy/Instagram – Fair Use
Swiatek claimed that she was left absolutely shocked and couldn’t even understand how it was possible that one of her samples came back as positive for a banned substance.
“I was shocked and this whole situation made me very anxious. At first I couldn’t understand how that was even possible and where it had come from. It turns out testing revealed historically lowest levels of trimetazidine, a substance I’ve never heard about before,” the four-time French Open winner said.
Meanwhile, both Swiatek and Sinner will be able to start 2025 in time. But the Italian is in a different situation after the WADA appealed the ITIA’s ruling so there is still a chance he gets suspended next year.
Tennis World USA