The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Thursday that five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, a heart medication known as TMZ (per AP News.) Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, formally admitted the anti-doping rule violation on Wednesday and accepted her penalty.
Swiatek failed an out-of-competition drug test in August. The ITIA accepted her explanation that the result was unintentional and caused by the contamination of a nonprescription medication — melatonin — that Swiatek was taking for issues with jet lag and sleeping. The ITIA said that it was determined her level of fault was “at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence.”
Swiatek said in a video posted on social media: “This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot. The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life. It took a lot to return to training after the situation nearly broke my heart, so there were many tears and lots of sleepless nights. The worst part of it was the uncertainty. I didn’t know what was going to happen with my career, how things would end or if I would be allowed to play tennis at all.”
Swiatek reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings for the first time in April 2022. She won the French Open in June for her fourth title there and fifth major championship overall, then took home a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in early August.
The women’s tennis tour said in a statement: “The WTA fully supports Iga during this difficult time. Iga has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to fair play and upholding the principles of clean sport, and this unfortunate incident highlights the challenges athletes face in navigating the use of medications and supplements. The WTA remains steadfast in our support for a clean sport and the rigorous processes that protect the integrity of competition. We also emphasize that athletes must take every precaution to verify the safety and compliance of all products they use, as even unintentional exposure to prohibited substances can have significant consequences.”
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