Iga Swiatek Admits To Being 'Scared' Of Negative Reaction To Her Doping Suspension

Saturday, 28 December 2024 at 11:39

byErik Virostko

Iga Swiatek admitted that she was scared of the reaction from fans after her positive doping test was announced.

Exactly one month ago, it was announced that Iga Swiatek tested positive for a banned substance. As a result of that positive test and subsequent investigation by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the Polish player received a one-month suspension.

That prevented her from competing in three WTA events late last season, but that was among the least of her worries. As someone who strived to have a perfect image as an athlete, having a positive doping test significantly impacted Swiatek as a person.

She was afraid of the reaction she would receive from the fans, as she wasn't sure how they would react. Now, one month later, the 23-year-old can assess the fans' reaction to the news.

Swiatek spoke about the situation ahead of the 2025 United Cup, where she will represent Poland alongside Hubert Hurkacz. It was clear that she wasn't glad to talk about the topic, even prompting questions about the tournament instead of her doping case at one point.

Talking about the reaction she received from her fans, Swiatek was very happy, as most of the reactions were positive, even though she tried to avoid reading them.

"I think their response has been more positive than I thought. I think people are, most of them, are understanding, and the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on."

"So basically, honestly, I can't really say objectively because I haven't been much on the Internet. I try to, you know, just go on with my life and focus on different things, focus on preparing for the season and on tennis, because this is the best thing you can do after a case like that."

"But overall, the reaction in Poland basically, because this is mostly what I read, has been pretty, you know, supportive. I really, really appreciate that, because even when I miss China swing and nobody knew why, it wasn't so easy."

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Swiatek admitted that she was scared of the reaction that would come with the announcement. She also acknowledged that there were some negative reactions as well, but that's also something she expected.

"So after my case was, after the information about my case was released, I was scared that most people were going to turn their back on me. But I felt the support, and it's great. Obviously, there are going to be some negative comments, and you're not going to avoid that."

"That's something that is always going to kind of follow us no matter what happens in our lives. We are public persons. Yeah, well, I just have to accept that and I don't really care about those, honestly."

With this episode now behind her, Swiatek will want to focus on the new season. Poland's first tie at the 2025 United Cup will be against Norway.