Swiatek & Sinner to Sharapova: 7 Grand Slam champion doping scandals
Doping in tennis is again a hot topic of discussion after the latest controversy to grip the sport.
Iga Swiatek’s case and the circumstances around it have got the tennis and wider sporting world talking, with the reigning French Open champion’s reputation under question.
However, the 23-year-old is by far from the sport’s only big star to be caught up in a drug testing controversy.
Here – in a non-exhaustive list – we look at seven Grand Slam winners who, in one way or another, infamously fell foul of doping rules.
Petr Korda (1998)
Months after winning his sole Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Korda tested positive for banned steroid nandrolone at Wimbledon in the summer of 1998.
That December, Korda’s denial of intent was accepted and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided initially not to ban the former world No 2.
An extended legal battle involving Korda, the ITF, the UK High Court, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ensued over the next nine months, with the Czech ultimately suspended for one year from September 1999.
Korda had announced his retirement before the ban and, despite some sporadic Challenger appearances, never played on the ATP Tour again.
Martina Hingis (2007)
The second chapter of Hingis’ legendary career ended bizarrely in 2007, with the Swiss testing positive for benzoylecgonine – a substance often associated with cocaine use.
Hingis attempted to appeal the ITF’s decision to strip her of her world ranking and ban her for two years from October 2007, though this was denied on the basis she had already confirmed her second retirement.
The Swiss great continued to protest her innocence and her case took another twist when a private test of her sample provided a negative result.
Hingis remained retired until 2013 when she returned for a second time to win a further 10 major titles across women’s and mixed doubles.
Marin Cilic (2013)
Cilic denied any wrongdoing after testing positive for nikethamide, a stimulant that aids respiratory function, at the Munich Open in 2013.
The Croatian claimed that the substance was present in glucose tablets he had brought in France, and the ITF accepted his claim of no intentional wrongdoing, though handed him a nine-month ban.
Cilic, who withdrew from Wimbledon citing a knee injury to avoid disclosing his provisional suspension, successfully appealed the length of the ban, and it was reduced to just four months.
He returned to tour in October 2013 and less than a year later won his sole Grand Slam title at the US Open.
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Maria Sharapova (2016)
Perhaps the most infamous doping case in tennis history saw tennis icon Sharapova admit to making a “huge mistake” after testing positive for Meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
Meldonium, a heart drug which she had used for a decade, had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) banned list at the start of 2016 – with Sharapova claiming she had forgotten to check this.
The Russian was initially banned for two years in June 2016, backdated to her positive test, though an appeal to CAS saw this reduced to 15 months.
Five-time major winner Sharapova returned to action in April 2017, though was not able to reach her former heights.
Simona Halep (2022)
The career of former French Open and Wimbledon champion Halep was thrown up into the air after it was confirmed in October 2022 that she had tested positive for anti-anaemia drug roxadustat at the US Open.
Former world No 1 Halep was provisionally suspended from the sport, with her biological passport also being investigated, and she was eventually banned for four years in September 2023.
The Romanian continued to claim the test came after accepting a substance from former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, and appealed to CAS in February 2024.
CAS reduced her ban from four years to nine months, allowing her to return after an 18-month suspension – though she has only played four tournaments since then.
Jannik Sinner (2024)
Doping in tennis was thrown back into an unwanted spotlight after the emergence of ATP world No 1 Sinner’s case in August.
It emerged just days before the US Open that the reigning Australian Open champion had twice tested positive for banned steroid clostebol in March, including once during his Indian Wells campaign.
Sinner was able to keep his case private after successfully appealing against a provisional suspension twice and was later found to be of “no fault” by the ITIA after claiming contamination from his physio.
However, WADA has since announced an appeal to that ruling, and the world No 1 could yet face further punishment.
Iga Swiatek (2024)
Swiatek’s case is the latest to attract unwanted attention after it emerged the world No 2 had received a one-month suspension after testing positive for TMZ.
The five-time major winner tested positive shortly before the Cincinnati Open this August and was then provisionally suspended from September 12 – October 4.
Swiatek successfully appealed her suspension, allowing her to return to court for the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King, and successfully argued that her melatonin medication had been contaminated.
Found to be of “no insignificant fault”, the Pole was handed a backdated one-month ban, meaning she has less than a week to serve – and will be able to play at the start of 2025.
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