Forbidden substance

Big bang! Doping ban for tennis ace Swiatek

Iga Swiatek

(Bild: AP)

World tennis reports the next prominent doping case! After Jannik Sinner, the world number one in the men's rankings, five-time Grand Slam tournament winner Iga Swiatek has now also been found positive for doping.

According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the 23-year-old Polish player tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), a well-known heart medication.

The positive result came from a non-competition test on August 12. Swiatek was provisionally suspended as a result, as has only now become known from the ITIA's announcement. She missed three tournaments as a result. 

"I was the subject of a strict ITIA procedure!"
She had justified her absence with fatigue and personal problems. Swiatek described the ordeal of testing positive as "the worst experience of my life". Missing the tournaments then also cost her the number 1 ranking. "For the past 2.5 months, I have been the subject of a rigorous ITIA process that confirmed my innocence," Swiatek said on Instagram.

The only positive doping test of her career had revealed "incredibly low levels of a banned substance I had never heard of before", calling into question everything she had worked hard for her entire life. "Both myself and my team were dealing with a huge amount of stress and anxiety. Now everything has been explained in detail and with a clean slate I can get back to what I love most."

Agency classifies case as not serious
The subsequent investigation into the case revealed that Swiatek had purchased the drug in her home country and, according to her own statement, had taken it to combat the effects of jet lag. The investigators deemed the Polish woman's statements to be credible and did not consider the violation to be a serious case.

Swiatek agreed to a one-month ban, almost all of which was already served in late summer. The long-time number 1 can therefore start the new tennis season in Australia at the turn of the year as normal. She also has to pay back part of the prize money she won.

As with Sinner - questions remain The case nevertheless raises questions - above all because of the ITIA's approach. As with Sinner, the public was not informed of the incident immediately after the positive doping test, but only now after the investigation had been completed.

Sinner had tested positive twice for the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol in March. However, the 23-year-old was not banned. The ITIA justified the acquittal by stating that it had been unable to prove that Sinner had acted with intent or negligence.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had, of course, lodged an appeal against this, and the case is now before the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It is not yet known whether WADA will also lodge an appeal in Swiatek's case...