Tennis world No. 2 Swiatek gets 1-month doping suspension

Iga Swiatek failed a doping test in August for a banned heart medication. But authorities said it appeared to be an honest mistake exhibiting "no significant fault or negligence," issuing a fairly minor punishment.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, a heart medication known as TMZ, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Thursday. 

Swiatek failed an out-of-competition doping test in August.

The ITIA said it had accepted her explanation that the result was unintentional and caused by the contamination of a nonprescription medication, melatonin, that Swiatek had been taking for issues with jet lag and sleeping. 

The ITIA said it determined her level of fault to be "at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence." 

Players can in theory face much sterner punishments, all the way up to lifetime bans from competition in extremis, for violating doping rules. 

Swiatek speaks of relief after 'most difficult' experience in life so far

The 23-year-old Polish player, currently world number 2 and at the top of the charts for much of the past year, posted a video on social media discussing the last few months. 

"This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot," Swiatek said, speaking in Polish with English subtitles included. "The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life."

The announcement effectively heralds the end of proceedings against her, with Swiatek having already served most of what initially was a provisional one-month suspension in September and October, missing matches in the process. She will now serve another eight days during a pause in competition to complete the sanction.

"The worst part of it was the 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," she said. 

Going forward, Swiatek said the most important thing was that she would be able to start the 2025 season "with a clean slate." 

Second case near top of tennis this year

In March this year, the top-ranked man in tennis, Jannik Sinner, failed tests for a steroid, but was cleared in August, right before the start of the US Open, which he went on to win. 

The World Anti-Doping Agency has however appealed against the ruling exonerating him. 

Swiatek reached the top of the World Tennis Association (WTA) rankings for the first time in April 2022 and has occupied the No. 1 spot for much of the time since, losing the position last month to Aryna Sabalenka. 

She defended her crown at this year's French Open and claimed bronze in the Paris Olympics, also played on the famous clay courts of Roland Garros. 

World Tennis Association: Swiatek has 'strong commitment to fair play' 

The WTA issued a statement in support of the star player on Thursday.

"The WTA fully supports Iga during this difficult time. Iga has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to fair play and upholding the principles of clean sport, and this unfortunate incident highlights the challenges athletes face in navigating the use of medications and supplements," it said. 

The WTA said it remained "steadfast" in its support of a clean sport and rigorous testing processes. 

"We also emphasize that athletes must take every precaution to verify the safety and compliance of all products they use, as even unintentional exposure to prohibited substances can have significant consequences," it said. 

The ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said differences in regulations in Swiatek's native Poland helped explain the unwitting transgression. 

"Once the source of the TMZ had been established, it became clear that this was a highly unusual instance of a contaminated product, which in Poland is a regulated medicine. However, the product does not have the same designation globally, and the fact that a product is a regulated medication in one country cannot of itself be sufficient to avoid any level of fault" on Swiatek's part, Moorhouse said.

Swiatek was also docked the prize money she had won, just under $160,000 or €150,000, in the Cincinatti Open in August immediately after her positive test.

msh/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)