By Rohith Nair
(Reuters) -World number two and five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Thursday.
Swiatek tested positive in an out-of-competition sample in August but the ITIA, which runs tennis’s anti-doping programme, accepted that it was caused by contamination of her medication melatonin, which was manufactured and sold over the counter in her native Poland.
Swiatek said she had been taking it for jet lag and sleep issues and as there was no significant fault or negligence, the ITIA ruled it was “the lowest end of the range” and offered the reigning French Open champion a one-month suspension which the 23-year-old accepted.
“The player was provisionally suspended from Sept. 12 until Oct. 4, missing three tournaments, which counts towards the sanction, leaving eight days remaining,” the ITIA said in a statement.”
She also forfeited prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament directly following the test.
Swiatek, who had pulled out of tournaments in Asia in September citing personal matters and fatigue, described the ordeal of testing positive as the “worst experience of my life”.
She was world number one when she failed the test and having skipped the Asian swing, Aryna Sabalenka leapfrogged her in the world rankings to eventually end the year as number one.
“In the last 2.5 months I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence,” Swiatek said on Instagram. “The only positive doping test in my career, showing unbelievably low level of a banned substance I’ve never heard about before, put everything I’ve worked so hard for my entire life into question.
“Both me and my team had to deal with tremendous stress and anxiety. Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate I can go back to what I love most.”
Swiatek, whose anti-doping violation was not made public at the time, had her provisional suspension lifted after providing samples of her melatonin product to the WADA-accredited SMRTL laboratory in Salt Lake City which confirmed detecting low doses of TMZ in both opened and sealed containers of the product.
The provisional suspension was lifted on Oct. 4 and the case forwarded to an Independent (LON:) Tribunal.
WORLD NUMBER ONES FAIL DOPE TESTS
Swiatek is not the first world number one to fail a doping test this year after Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the men’s top-ranked player, also tested positive for anabolic agent clostebol.
However, Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal ahead of the U.S. Open, which he went on to win. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the tribunal’s finding of “no fault or negligence”.
With two of the biggest names in tennis escaping lengthy bans for anti-doping violations, questions are being raised about the sport’s reputation.
Addressing the media on Thursday, ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said: “These are not cases of intentional doping. We’re dealing with inadvertent breaches of the rules.
“So I don’t think this is a cause for concern for tennis fans. I think the fact that we’re being clearly open, transparent, and it shows the breadth and depth of our anti-doping programme.”
Swiatek played in Cincinnati, where she was the top seed and reached the semi-finals. The WTA said she won nearly $159,000 in prize money at the tournament won by Sabalenka.
Swiatek then took part in the U.S. Open where she was knocked out in the quarter-finals before the WTA Finals in Riyadh where she failed to advance from the group stage.
She also represented Poland at the Billie Jean King Cup where they lost in the semi-finals to eventual champions Italy.
The women’s tour (WTA) said they acknowledged the ITIA’s decision and that they “fully support” Swiatek.
“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,” the WTA said.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva also tested positive for TMZ, with the result revealed during the 2022 Winter Olympics. She was disqualified from the team competition at the Beijing Games and was handed a four-year doping ban.
