Iga Swiatek doping ban: ‘This was not an unfortunate incident’, says director of Novak Djokovic-led PTPA
Tennis authorities have come under fire over the sport’s anti-doping processes after the news of Iga Swiatek’s ban for failing a drug test emerged.
Ahmad Nassar, the executive director of the Novak Djokovic-founded PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association), took issue with the WTA’s claim that Swiatek’s ban was an “unfortunate incident.”
It was announced on Thursday that Swiatek had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in August, shortly before the Cincinnati Open.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in a statement that Swiatek had received a one-month suspension as it was deemed she carried “no significant fault or negligence.”
Swiatek was provisionally suspended from September 12 to October 4, which means the 23-year-old Polish star had already served 22 days of her ban on the day the news emerged — leaving just eight days left to serve.
Therefore, the five-time Grand Slam champion and world No 2 will be able to compete at her next two scheduled events: the United Cup and the Australian Open.
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In a statement regarding Swiatek’s ban, the WTA said: “The WTA fully supports Iga during this difficult time.
“Iga has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to fair play and upholding the principles of clean sport, and this unfortunate incident highlights the challenges athletes face in navigating the use of medications and supplements.
“The WTA remains steadfast in our support for a clean sport and the rigorous processes that protect the integrity of competition.
“We also emphasise that athletes must take every precaution to verify the safety and compliance of all products they use, as even unintentional exposure to prohibited substances can have significant consequences.”
In response to the statement, Nassar slammed the WTA and the “tennis-establishment” over the way anti-doping is handled.
“I’m sorry. This was not an “unfortunate incident.” A real unfortunate incident is something you cannot control. Tennis can – and should! – no, must! – control its own anti-doping process,” Nassar wrote on X.
“Athletes indeed face “challenges.” Like, the weather. And their opponents. But the messy, tennis-establishment imposed anti-doping process is not some “challenge” athletes must overcome. That’s a cop-out.
“What “precaution” should Iga have taken here? Pre-test melatonin on the minuscule chance it was contaminated? Come on.
“Perhaps the tours which claim to “fully support” players should offer pre-tested common medications, like melatonin, to all players? What’s that? Sounds unreasonable? Oh ok – then why do we place even more unreasonable standards and burdens on individual athletes???
“And dropping this on Thanksgiving morning in the US is classic subterfuge.”
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