Women’s tennis star Iga Swiatek, the winner of five Grand Slams, has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Thursday.
Swiatek, who has been ranked No. 1 in the world for most of the past two seasons, tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication better known as TMZ, in an out-of-competition test back in August.
The ITIA accepted her explanation that the results weren’t intentional, saying it was caused by contamination of a nonprescription medication, melatonin, which she uses for issues with jet lag and sleeping.
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Iga Swiatek of Team Poland celebrates her victory against Irina-Camelia Bego of Team Romania during the Women’s Singles First Round on day one of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on July 27. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The ITIA stated that Swiatek’s level of fault was “at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence.”
Swiatek was previously suspended from Sept. 12 to Oct. 4, missing three tournaments over that span — Korea Open, China Open and Wuhan Open — though she said at the time it was due to personal reasons.
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Swiatek has only eight days remaining on the punishment, which will be served while there’s no competition.
So, she will be cleared to return on Monday.
Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates her win over Coco Gauff of the United States in the semifinal on Day 12 of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on June 6. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
Along with the suspension, Swiatek has to forfeit $158,944 of prize money from the Cincinnati Open, which she played in after failing the test. She ultimately lost in the semifinals.
In an Instagram video, Swiatek reacted to the ITIA’s decision, calling it the “worst experience of my life.”
“In the last two and a half months, I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence,” Swiatek said in the video. “The only positive doping test in my career, showing unbelievably low level of a banned substance I’ve never heard about before, put everything I’ve worked so hard for my entire life into question.
“Both me and my team had to deal with tremendous stress and anxiety. Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate I can go back to what I love most.”
Iga Swiatek practices ahead of the Omnium Banque Nationale on Aug. 4, 2023. (Patrice Lapointe/Tennis Canada via Omnium Banque Nationale)
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Another high-profile doping case came in tennis with Jannik Sinner, who failed two tests for a steroid in March. He was eventually cleared in August right before the US Open, which he went on to win for his second Grand Slam.
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