Iga Swiatek doping ban: Nick Kyrgios slams ‘excuses’ after failed drug test
Nick Kyrgios was never going to waste an opportunity to add his two cents to the latest doping controversy that has engulfed tennis as he weighed in on Iga Swiatek’s failed drug test.
The dust surrounding world No 1 Jannik Sinner’s two failed dope tests had barely settled and already a new storm has erupted as the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has announced that Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in August.
Much like Sinner, the ITIA found that the Pole bore “no significant fault or negligence” as “the contaminated product was a regulated non-prescription medication in the player’s country of origin”.
Swiatek, though, was hit with a one-month ban and was provisionally suspended from September 21 before successfully appealing, missing three tournaments.
The Pole has missed 22 days of competition and thus only has another eight days of her ban to serve before being able to return to action.
The five-time Grand Slam winner issued a statement, saying: “It was a blow for me, I was shocked and this whole situation made me very anxious. At first I couldn’t understand how that was even possible and where it had come from.
“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 cooperated with the ITIA.”
Kyrgios was quite critical of the Sinner doping saga as he believed the Italian should have known better and should have received a ban.
Sinner, though, is not in the clear yet as the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against the ITIA ruling so he might still be suspended.
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As for the Swiatek news, Zimbabwean player Benjamin Lock posted a thread about the inconsistency in how the rules are applied as he wrote on X: “1 month ban It’s not even April fools day. Don’t play with us like that. Two number 1s in the world failing drug tests in the same year is wild.
“People are missing the point. It’s not about whether or not the substance in their body improved their performance. These athletes are top of our sport and are remarkable with or without it. It’s the fact that the rules are applied differently.
“I’m glad their careers are not being destroyed. The drug testing nowadays is so invasive and you’re constantly on a knifes edge being paranoid of what you consume. The point is that they are picking and choosing on who to bring down the full extent of law.”
Kyrgios replied: “OUR SPORT IS COOKED ”
The Australian later wrote: “The excuse that we can all use is that we didn’t know. Simply didn’t know. Professionals at the highest level of sport can now just say ‘we didn’t know’ “