Iga Swiatek has been heartened by the reaction to her doping case (Martin Rickett/PA) (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Iga Swiatek revealed she feared a more severe backlash over her doping ban and doesn’t anticipate the case to be prolonged. The Polish tennis player was given a one-month suspension in November due to a positive test for trimetazidine, an angina medication, which the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) acknowledged was caused by contamination of a jet lag medication.
This was the second high-profile doping case in tennis, following ‘s two failed tests, for which he wasn’t banned. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed Sinner’s decision, and he still faces a potential suspension.
However, Swiatek doesn’t expect a similar outcome in her case. She served a brief provisional suspension, missing three autumn tournaments, and completed her ban during the off-season after her punishment was announced.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the United Cup in Australia, the first tournament of the new season, Swiatek addressed the possibility of a WADA appeal: “Well I don’t think there is any reason, because I didn’t play three tournaments.
“I was suspended for a long time and I lost (world) number one because of that. I also know how the procedure worked, and I gave every possible evidence and there is not much, honestly, to do more.
“So I’m not expecting an appeal, but I have no influence on what’s going to happen.”
Swiatek, like Sinner, found her brief provisional suspension only disclosed post-resolution of her case, attributing her absence from three tournaments to personal reasons and a coaching change. This secrecy has fuelled further allegations of a two-tier system favouring top players, an assertion the ITIA and tennis chiefs vehemently refute.
Swiatek expressed confidence in the fairness of the process: “I can say from the processes that I went through – and how they treated me from the beginning – that it seemed fair for me,” she remarked.
She took to social media with an extensive video explaining the situation as soon as it was permissible, noting the largely positive feedback: “I think their response has been more positive than I thought. I think people, most of them, are understanding, and the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on.
“But overall, the reaction in Poland basically, because this is mostly what I read, has been pretty supportive. I really, really appreciate that, because even when I missed the China swing and nobody knew why, it wasn’t so easy.
“So, after the information about my case was released, I was scared that most of the people are going to turn their back on me. But I felt the support and it’s great.
“Obviously there are going to be some negative comments and you’re not going to avoid that. I just have to accept that and I don’t really care about those, honestly.”