New scandal in tennis: Iga Swiatek sanctioned for doping

Mónica Barberán Munera | 28 Nov 2024 | 15.18

Iga Swiatek in the Billie Jean King Cup 2024. Photo: Getty

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When we thought that this 2024 couldn't surprise us anymore, some surprising news related to Iga Swiatek emerge, reminding us of what was happening on the men's circuit with Jannik Sinner. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has just announced that the current world number 2 was provisionally suspended for 1 month (from September 22 to October 4) for testing positive for a banned substance: trimetazidine (TMZ). The Polish player tested positive in August and was suspended in September, but it is only now that the ITIA has revealed what happened, months later as in the case of the Italian.

The ITIA investigation concluded that the origin was due to a regulated medication (melatonin) from Poland that was contaminated, so it is understood that the player was not at fault and there was no negligence on her part. It appears that the Polish player took this medication to deal with her insomnia caused by jet lag and other issues. Iga accepted the one-month suspension from playing starting on September 12, a reason that justifies her absence in the last tournaments of the year. Initially, it seemed that her time off the courts was due to needing time with the change of coach, but it seems that the reason was completely different.

Similarities with the 'Sinner case'

The Polish player successfully appealed and after her suspension, she was able to return to play as we saw in the WTA Finals. Iga managed to prove her innocence due to contamination, but once again, we focus on the way the International Tennis Integrity Agency has handled this issue with the former world number 1. Her case and Sinner's present similarities in the treatment of announcing much later what was happening. What do you think about all this?

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nuevo escándalo en el tenis: Iga Swiatek, sancionada por "doping"

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