Iga Swiatek accepts one-month suspension after testing positive for banned substance
World number two Iga Swiatek has agreed to a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced on Thursday. The five-time Grand Slam champion tested positive in an out-of-competition sample collected in August. However, the ITIA acknowledged that the positive result was caused by contamination in her melatonin medication, which is sold over-the-counter in Poland.
Swiatek, who had been using the melatonin for jet lag and sleep issues, said she had not been aware of any issues with the product, stressing that there was no intentional fault or negligence on her part. As a result, the ITIA determined the infraction to be at the “lowest end of the range” of violations. Consequently, Swiatek, 23, accepted a one-month suspension, which began with a provisional suspension from September 12 until October 4, during which time she missed three tournaments. The remaining eight days of her suspension will now take effect.
In addition to the suspension, Swiatek forfeited her prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament immediately following her positive test. During her absence from the tour, Aryna Sabalenka overtook Swiatek at the top of the rankings and ended the year as world number one.
Swiatek described the experience of testing positive as the “worst experience” of her life. “In the last 2.5 months, I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence,” she wrote on Instagram. “The only positive doping test in my career… 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.”
The ITIA later lifted the provisional suspension after Swiatek provided samples of her melatonin product to a WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City. The lab confirmed the presence of trace amounts of TMZ in both sealed and opened containers of the product. Following this, the case was forwarded to an Independent Tribunal for review.
Swiatek’s suspension comes amid growing concerns about doping in tennis, as she is not the first top player to test positive this year. Earlier in 2024, Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the men’s world number one, also tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol, though he was cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent tribunal. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed the tribunal’s decision to clear Sinner.
The ITIA emphasized that both Swiatek and Sinner’s cases were the result of inadvertent breaches of the anti-doping rules, and Karen Moorhouse, CEO of the ITIA, reassured tennis fans that the sport was not facing a doping crisis. “These are not cases of intentional doping,” she said. “We’re dealing with inadvertent breaches of the rules.”
Swiatek, who missed the Asian swing of the season in September citing personal matters and fatigue, returned to action at the Cincinnati Open, where she reached the semi-finals. She also competed at the U.S. Open, where she was eliminated in the quarter-finals, and at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where she failed to advance beyond the group stage.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) expressed their full support for Swiatek, acknowledging the challenges athletes face in managing medications and supplements. “Iga has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to fair play and upholding the principles of clean sport,” the WTA stated.
Swiatek’s case follows the doping scandal involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was also found to have tested positive for TMZ during the 2022 Winter Olympics. Valieva was subsequently disqualified from the team competition and handed a four-year ban.
With her suspension now in place, Swiatek looks ahead to returning to competitive tennis with a “clean slate.”
