The current World No 2, Iga Swiatek, has accepted a 1 month suspension as she tested positive for a banned substance.
The substance is called trimetazidine, it’s a heart medication known as TMZ, and this was confirmed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency earlier today.
Swiatek failed a so called “out of competition” drug test back in August and ITIA accepted the explanation that it was caused by contamination of melatonin, a regulated non-prescription medication, which Iga had taken for problems with sleep and jet lag, and that it was unintentional.
ITIA said her level of fault was “at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence,”, hence the quite short ban.
Full comment from ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse:
“Taking into account the nature of the medication, and all the circumstances, it does place that fault at the lowest end of the scale. This case is an important reminder for tennis players of the strict liability nature of the World Anti-Doping Code and the importance of players carefully considering the use of supplements and medications.”
Polish tennis player Iga ?wi?tek has accepted a one-month suspension under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme.
— International Tennis Integrity Agency (@itia_tennis) November 28, 2024
Only 8 days left
The five-time Grand Slam champion has already cleared most of the ban though. Iga was already provisionally suspended from 22nd September to 4th October when she missed 3 tournaments of the Asia hard-court swing (Korea Open, China Open and Wuhan Open).
As the agreement was for a month suspension, she will serve the remaining eight days from today, and will be cleared to return to action as of 4th December.
Swiatek also forfeited her prize money of around $158K from the Cincinnati Open (reached semi-final), the first tournament she played following the failed test.
“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,” commented Swiatek.
This news comes only months after the men’s world no 1, Jannik Sinner, failed two tests and was cleared just before the start of the US Open.
