Iga Swiatek banned from tennis – will she get a second suspension in 2025?
The shockwaves from Iga Swiatek’s suspension from tennis will come to an end on December 4, but will the punishment be extended after she failed a drug test?
The five-time Grand Slam champion was ranked world No 1 when she provided a sample containing the angina medication trimetazidine in an out-of-competition test on August 12.
In a case that echoes of world No 1 Jannik Sinner’s failed drug test from last March, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Swiatek’s positive test was a result of contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin, which Swiatek took for jet lag and sleep issues.
They declared Swiatek’s level of fault was to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence’.
That resulted in a one-month ban for Swiatek, with that decision sparking a huge debate among players who were treated very differently after they also failed drug tests.
Swiatek was provisionally suspended from September 22 until October 4, with the three tournaments the 23-year-old missed attributed to personal matters and a change of coach.
The Pole must serve an additional eight days to December 4 to make up the month, while she also forfeits her prize money from reaching the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open, the tournament directly following the test.
She gave her verdict in a lengthy video on her social media platforms with an emotional statement.
“I’m finally allowed… so I instantly want to share with you something that became the worst experience of my life,” said Swiatek.
“In the last and a half months I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence.
“The only positive doping test in my career, showing an 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. I know I will be stronger than ever.
“I’m leaving with you a long video and right now I’m just relieved it’s over. I want to be open with you, even though I know I did nothing wrong.
Nick Kyrgios is among those who have expressed their surprise over the verdict on Swiatek, with all eyes not on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as they consider their next move.
WADA challenged the ITIA decision on Sinner and have taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing Sinner should be given a suspension from tennis of between one and two years after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance clostebol in March.
Given their stance in the Sinner case, WADA may now be expected to consider a similar appeal against Swiatek’s suspension that could extend her agony over this failed drug test well into 2025.
Yet both Sinner and Swiatek will be encouraged by the comments from Oliver Niggli, director of WADA, during an interview with L’Equipe, as he hinted the players may be victims of improved technology after minuscule amounts of the banned substances were found in their systems.
“Today there is a problem of contamination,” said Niggli. “There are no more (doping cheats) than before, but laboratories are more efficient in detecting infinitesimal quantities of doping substances. We will have to open a working table to understand how to manage this situation.
“The quantities found are so small that it is possible to become contaminated by doing even trivial things.
“I understand the public, who thinks we are naive and that we believe everything. But the reality is different. There is a problem.
“If we wanted to simplify our lives, we could impose new thresholds and not find all these cases. But the real question is: Are we ready to accept microdosing? Where do we stop?
“With thresholds, we wouldn’t have seen all these cases. What we need to understand is whether we are ready to accept microdosing and where it is right to stop. A working table will be created precisely for this type of reflection.”
There can be no denying that tennis has a huge credibility issue with two of its biggest stars now under a huge cloud of suspicion after failed drug tests, with the perception that the sport’s decision makers are showing extreme leniency in their punishments adding to the credibility issue that is now dominating the tennis agenda.
