The tennis community was dealt a major shock in the last 24 hours as former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was found failing a drug test. The Polish player was banned for one month from the Tour.
Swiatek's sample was taken for regular testing on August 12, 2024. On August 14, a report surfaced on social media claiming several prominent Polish athletes were found guilty of taking prohibited substances, including Swiatek's name.
Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) was quick to dissuade such claims and the organization put out a message immediately, declaring the innocence of the Polish athletes mentioned in the files, including Swiatek. The surfaced information was labeled as "Fake", a result of a hack.
"Info presented in this post about Polish athletes is a fake. All of this posts are aimed to discredit Polish athletes, who don’t deserve that cause they compete clean. None of this athletes was positive and none of presented dates is matching doping controls which were conducted," the statement from Polada read.
The hacked report has no resemblance to the present case as Swiatek's name was among the files, claiming the Pole was found complicit in taking banned substances back in 2021.
Since Swiatek's name was involved in the reports, the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) also involved themselves. The tennis body also vociferously supported the claims of the report being fake and gave a public clean chit to the current World No. 2.
Iga Swiatek tested positive for Trimetazidine back in August
In recent developments, Iga Swiatek was found positive for the prohibitive substance Trimetazidine (TMZ) back in August. However, the Pole gave her account of how the substance might have entered her body, through a doctor-prescribed sleep medication she had been taking.
The Pole took to her social media and expressed her astonishment at the results, back when they were first communicated to her. However, she and her team were quick to respond to the associated regulatory proceedings.
"On September 12, I learned that my anti-doping test sample, collected on August 12 - so, before the Cincinnati Open - 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 TMZ, 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 very chaotic. We instantly reacted and cooperated with the ITIA", Swiatek said.
Swiatek played at the Cincinnati Open, which was the event that took place right after her sample was tested. The Polish player reached the semifinals, losing to Aryna Sabalenka. In light of recent events, the former World No. 1 had to let go of the prize money she received at the tournament.
I ga Swiatek was punished with a one-month ban in the circumstances, having previously served a provisional ban in September which saw her miss some key tournaments like the China Open and the Wuhan Open. Her absence in those events did not allow her to defend the points from those events, which were key in her losing the top spot on the WTA rankings to Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek ended her season at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, and helped Poland reach the semifinals, where they lost 1-2 to eventual winners Italy.