Iga Swiatek recently served a one-month doping ban, after testing positive for a prohibited substance (trimetazidine), in an out-of-competition sample in August. Her defence was accepted by the ITIA that the test returned positive due to contamination of a regulated non-prescription medicine melatonin, which was manufactured and sold in Poland.
The World no. 2 reportedly consumed the medicine due to jet lag and sleep issues, and the ITIA deemed it as unintentional. The Polish star’s suspension officially ended on December 4th. 2024 saw some high-profile doping controversies in tennis as even men’s World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was caught in one, during his triumphant US Open title run. But he didn’t face any punishment as an independent tribunal accepted his defence that it was unintentional contamination. But since then WADA have reopened the case again, asking CAS to investigate. The CAS hearing will be held next year.
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Unlike Swiatek, Sinner had to deal with less criticism and many of his colleagues also supported him. But for Swiatek, it has been different and she has faced plenty of criticism lately for the short length of her suspension. Speaking on a YouTube channel, former tennis player Andy Roddick had some advice for Swiatek and asked to take some tips from Sinner in dealing with such situations.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike Swiatek, Sinner had to deal with less criticism and many of his colleagues also supported him. But for Swiatek, it has been different and she has faced plenty of criticism lately for the short length of her suspension. Speaking on a YouTube channel, former tennis player Andy Roddick had some advice for Swiatek and asked to take some tips from Sinner in dealing with such situations.
{{/usCountry}}“If I am Iga I am probably calling him and saying are there any hacks that have helped you deal with it the way you have? You have almost got better in the post-mortem of the announcement,” he said.
“There will certainly be things to deal with, she is going to get asked about it every time. It will be as if whoever has asked the question hasn’t been able to read her responses before, they are going to make her say it again and again. If I’m in her corner I would just say don’t have a moment where you are exhausted by it, just be patient with the process and do what you have to do. The more emotion you show, the more likely it is to be a story over and over again,” he added.
Swiatek reportedly tested positive negative during the Paris Olympics and it was only during her US Tour in Cincinnati that he failed a doping test after taking melatonin tablets.