Iga Swiatek doping case: Aryna Sabalenka candidly addresses if she thinks her rival is ‘innocent’
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has defended Iga Swiatek over her failed doping tests by declaring she prefers to believe her rival is “innocent.”
Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned metabolic agent, on August 12 ahead of the Cincinnati Open.
On November 28, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that Swiatek had received a one-month ban as it was deemed she carried “no significant fault or negligence.”
The 23-year-old Pole also had to forfeit the 390 ranking points and $159,000 she earned for reaching the semi-finals at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.
The ITIA accepted Swiatek’s explanation that the substance entered her body due to the contamination of non-prescription medication she had been using for jet lag and sleep issues.
Swiatek was provisionally suspended from September 12 to October 4, meaning she had already served 22 days of her ban on the day the news emerged.
The five-time Grand Slam champion and world No 2 was forced to miss WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan during the suspension period.
Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open and the US Open in an excellent 2024 season, replaced Swiatek at the top of the WTA Rankings in late October following the Pole’s absence from the tour.
Swiatek returned to action at the WTA Finals in Riyadh at the start of November before ending her 2024 season at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga.
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Speaking in an interview with The Age, Sabalenka suggested there has been an overreaction to Swiatek’s case and expressed her belief that tennis is a clean sport.
“Whatever happened to her, I believe in a clean sport,” the 26-year-old Belarusian said. “People always overreact when they see something without trying to figure what actually happened and understand the player.
“They’re always going to find things to judge someone successful. So, I prefer to believe that there is a clean sport and she’s innocent. If they prove that, it means that she is innocent.
“Nobody knew what was going on… so, honestly, I have no comments on that situation. I focused on myself and improving as a player, and it’s not like I became No 1 in just that period.
“The whole year, I was working hard, and winning a lot of tournaments and putting her under pressure, so she had to stay on the high level to keep her position.”
Sabalenka started her 2025 season in style by winning the WTA 500 event in Brisbane last week, while Swiatek was a runner-up at the United Cup with Poland.
The duo will next fight for the title at the Australian Open, which will begin on Sunday January 12. Sabalenka, the two-time reigning champion, will be the top seed, while Swiatek will be seeded second as she seeks her maiden crown in Melbourne.
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