Iga Swiatek failed drugs test: star details ‘toughest battle’ as she releases statement

Oli Dickson Jefford 28 Nov 2024 4:00 PM

Iga Swiatek talks to the media during a press conference

Iga Swiatek has described fighting the”toughest battle of my life” after it emerged she had been handed a one-month suspension for a doping violation.

It emerged on Thursday that the world No 2 and five-time Grand Slam winner had tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine back in August, shortly before the Cincinnati Open.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency [ITIA] revealed in a statement that Swiatek had been found of “no significant fault or negligence” regarding the case, and was handed a short one-month suspension.

Having been provisionally suspended from September 12 to October 4, the 23-year-old has already served 22 days of her suspension, with just eight days left to serve.

That means the reigning French Open champion will be able to compete at the United Cup for Poland, before heading to the Australian Open.

In an Instagram video, Swiatek revealed a “strong sense of injustice” when the manner of the violation emerged.

She said: “It turns out testing revealed historically lowest levels of trimetazidine, a substance I’ve never heard about before. I don’t think I even knew it existed. I have never encountered it, nor did people around me.

“So I had a strong sense of injustice and these first few weeks were really chaotic. We instantly reacted and co-operated with the ITIA.

“The detected concentrations, which was extremely low, suggested – or rather made it obvious – that either the sample was contaminated, or a supplement or medication that I was taking was contaminated, which is why we focused on running tests on all nutritional supplements and medications I was taking.

“The test showed that melatonin, I’ve been using a long time, the batch I had on me and had used before the Cincinnati tournament was contaminated during manufacturing. It was a shock to hear, but explained a lot – and locating the source is key in these cases.

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“Which is why after finding out, we had to prove that the medication was in fact contaminated. Melatonin is necessary for me because of all my travelling. Jet lag and work-related stress mean that sometimes without it I couldn’t fall asleep, and I would be having trouble having sleep.

“On September 12 I was provisionally suspended, making me unable to play the tournaments in Asia or defend my ranking. Clearly, it’s a consequence of this situation, but not the most important one for me. What mattered most for me was to prove my innocence.

“Now that the whole thing is drawing to a close, I was put on a one-month suspension – 22 days are behind me, eight days are still to go. That means I can start my season with a clean slate, focused on what I’ve always done – simply playing tennis.”

Swiatek returned to action in November, winning two matches at the WTA Finals before guiding Poland to the last four of the Billie Jean King Cup.

While admitting it was difficult to return to court, she also expressed relief that she had made it through her “toughest battle”.

She added: “This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot. Going back to playing, compete in WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup gave me a lot of positive emotions and made me enjoy my game again.

“This whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life, it took a lot of strength – returning to training after this situation nearly broke my heart.

“I admit this situation hit me hard because all my life I strived to have a career that could be an example for generations to come, a career that’s going to be fair in a sense, that will show I was fair and will embody all the values a top athlete should stand for.

“I have a sense this situation could undermine the image I’ve been building for years, which is why I hope you will understand what happened, understand how I had not control over it, and could do nothing to prevent this unfortunate turn of events.

“So now I have fought the toughest battle of my life, and I hope you will stay with me and keep supporting me.”