Iga Swiatek banned after testing positive for illegal substance

Iga Swiatek has accepted a month-long ban after testing positive for trimetazidine.

The tennis fraternity was left stunned as current world number two Iga Swiatek has been handed a one-month suspension having tested positive for a heart medication, trimetazidine (TMZ), in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024, when she was world number one.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed on Thursday an investigation determined the source was a contaminated regulated medication. It therefore ruled Swiatek bore no significant fault or negligence for the failed test. Since Swiatek’s level of fault is considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence’, the ITIA offered just a month’s suspension which she has now accepted on November 28.

The five-time Grand Slam champion was provisionally suspended from 12 September before successfully appealing, due to which she missed out on the Korea Open (16-22 September), China Open (25 September – 6 October) and Wuhan Open (7-13 October – she was suspended during the entry deadline).

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The ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said: “Once the source of the TMZ had been established, it became clear that this was a highly unusual instance of a contaminated product, which in Poland is a regulated medicine. However, the product does not have the same designation globally, and the fact that a product is a regulated medication in one country cannot of itself be sufficient to avoid any level of fault.”

Taking to her Instagram handle, the 23-year-old in a video message asked for the love and support of tennis fans in what she described to be “the worst experience of her life”.

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A post shared by Iga Świątek (@iga.swiatek)

It was only a few months back, prior to the Cincinnati Open when a massive controversy hit current world number one Jannik Sinner, for allegedly consuming an illegal substance and when everyone seemed to have moved on, another tennis star finds herself caught in a similar corundum.

Swiatek had appealed the provisional suspension on 22 September, notifying an independent tribunal that the source of the positive test had been identified as a contaminated medicine manufactured in Poland. Since her provisional suspension was lifted on 4 October, Swiątek’s ban ends on 4 December 2024.

The Pole was also forced to forfeit the prize money from her run to the Cincinnati Open semi-finals, the tournament that directly followed the test. However, Iga Swiatek is expected to participate in the 2025 Australian Open.

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