Iga Swiatek breaks silence after shocking 1-month doping ban

Iga Swiatek has spoken out for the first time about her one-month suspension from tennis after testing positive for a banned substance, trimetazidine (TMZ). She admitted she was "shocked" by the situation, which left her feeling extremely "anxious."

The ITIA revealed the news on November 28, but the test took place during an out-of-competition screening in August 2024. Swiatek was provisionally suspended on September 12, missing three tournaments before successfully appealing the ban.

The Pole has now addressed the situation, sharing a video on her Instagram Stories where she explained everything in detail. She noted how she and her team fully cooperated with the investigation despite struggling to understand how it happened, among other things.

"Hi everyone. The topic I want to share with you today is a tough one, one I was not able to discuss in the last 2.5 months. But I finally can, so I hope this video will explain a lot. I want to be transparent with you and I want you to understand what's been happening to me recently," Iga Swiatek said at the beginning of the video.

The World No. 1 added:

"On September 12 I learned that my anti-doping test sample, collected on August 12 before the Cincinnati tournament, tested positive. 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 came 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."