Iga Swiatek: This situation could undermine the image I’ve been building for years
Iga Swiatek has released a video statement upon the news that she has been suspended for a month following a failed anti-doping test, describing it as the ‘toughest battle’ of her life.
Swiatek tested positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample on 12th August, but was found to have ‘no significant fault or negligence’ by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
This came after the medication that Swiatek was taking for jet lag and sleep issues, melatonin, was proved to have been contaminated with TMZ in the manufacturing stage.
As a result, the WTA No.2 has only received a one month suspension and has already served 22 days of that after missing the entirety of the Asian swing.
Polish tennis player Iga Świątek has accepted a one-month suspension under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
— International Tennis Integrity Agency (@itia_tennis) November 28, 2024
Now in a lengthy video on Instagram, Swiatek has detailed the toll that this ordeal has had on her, “This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot, Going back to playing, competing in the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup gave me a lot of positive emotions and made me enjoy my game again.
“The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life. It took a lot of strength, returning to training after this situation nearly broke my heart. There were many tears and lots of sleepless nights. The worst part of it was uncertainty. I didn’t know what was going to happen with my career, how things would end or if I would be allowed to play tennis at all, which is why I am so grateful to my family and my team. People who stood by me, no matter what, right from the very beginning. Everyone got together to help me.”
Swiatek continued, “They went all out to locate the source, and I am forever grateful for that. I admit this situation hit me hard, because all my life I strived to have a career that could be an example for generations to come. A career that’s going to be fair, that will show I was fair and will embody all the values a top athlete should stand for.
“I have a sense this situation could undermine the image I’ve been building for years. Which is why I hope you will understand what happened, understand how I had no control over it, and could do nothing to prevent this unfortunate turn of events.”
The five-time Grand Slam champion concluded, “I hope you will stand by me and will keep supporting me, because I’m not sure if, without my supporters, I would have been able to find the strength to carry on and keep fighting. So now, I have fought the toughest battle of my life, and I hope you will stay with me and keep supporting me.”
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Swiatek only has eight days of her suspension remaining, and will return to action at the start of the 2025 season for the United Cup in Sydney.
Inside the baseline…
It is really clear how difficult these past few months have been for Iga Swiatek, and would explain her recent dip in form, as well as perhaps her coaching change from Tomasz Wiktorowski to Wim Fissette. If Swiatek’s claim of contamination is correct and can be backed up then it is hard to argue that she deserves much more of a suspension, but a lot of people’s frustration will be due to the lack of consistency in these cases when it comes to higher ranked players in comparison to lower ranked players.
READ MORE: Iga Swiatek accepts one month doping suspension after positive test
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