‘Iga Swiatek & Jannik Sinner doping cases dealt with quicker than other players in same situation’
Greg Rusedski has asserted that both Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner’s doping cases were handled quicker than that of other players “in the same situation.”
The former world No 4 also proclaimed that athletes are “100% liable” for failed drug tests “no matter how you are contaminated.”
It emerged 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 five-time Grand Slam champion had already served 22 days of her ban on the day the news emerged — leaving just eight days left to serve.
The 23-year-old Polish star pulled out of WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan during the suspension period before she returned to action at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Iga Swiatek News
Sinner, meanwhile, avoided a ban after twice testing positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid — during and after the Indian Wells Masters — as an independent tribunal ruled the Italian bore “no fault or negligence.”
The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his body when receiving a massage from his former physio, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on his finger.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the verdict, seeking to impose a ban of up to two years on Sinner.
In a post on X, Rusedski replied to a user who argued Swiatek and Sinner’s cases were not comparable and suggested both players have received preferential treatment.
“This is all true, but I think the main issue is the speed of dealing with the positive tests,” the British-Canadian wrote.
“Other players have been in the same situation and it has not been dealt with in the same manner.
“As an athlete under WADA, you are 100% liable no matter how you are contaminated.”
The 1997 US Open runner-up made the same point after the news of Sinner’s failed tests broke in August.
“The whole Jannik Sinner case is interesting how quickly it is dealt with compared to other cases which have taken many more months and years,” Rusedski said.
“How is this accepted and resolved so quickly? The system needs to do better for all players, not just the very best?”
