Iga Swiatek Labels Suspension 'A Formality' But Preferred 'Innocent' Outcome
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Iga Swiatek might have been suspended from competing on the WTA Tour, but the Polish player sees it only as "a formality."
The 23-year-old Polish player experienced something that no tennis player wants to experience. During a photoshoot, she received an e-mail saying that she tested positive for a banned substance.
At first, she didn't know how to react, but once she realized what the e-mail really was about, she couldn't hold back her tears. It was an emotionally exhausting period for her, but it's now over after she accepted a one-month suspension.
That suspension ended on December 4th, 2024, which means that the five-time Grand Slam champion can prepare for the 2025 season without any disturbances and also start the new season without any issues.
The only "problem" for her might be losing the World No. 1 rank battle to Aryna Sabalenka, which came as a direct consequence of her missing the China Open in Beijing and the Wuhan Open, which are both WTA 1000 tournaments.
A few weeks after her case was made public, Swiatek sat down with Anita Werner on Fakty po Faktach for Polish TVN24, explaining every detail about her situation.
Speaking to Werner, Swiatek admitted that even though she would have preferred the official statement to say that she was innocent, she sees the one-month suspension only as a formality.
"I would have preferred it to say 'innocent,' but I admit, for me, it’s just paperwork and bureaucracy. What mattered most to me was that I could start the new season with a clean slate and just focus on playing."
The truth is that Swiatek wasn't significantly impacted by the suspension. Despite having to miss the two tournaments in China, she could then compete at the WTA Finals and the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, so she was impacted only lightly.
"Since I got the information that my suspension would end in just over a week, I’ve kind of accepted the situation. The fact that I received such a penalty is just a formality."
In Swiatek's eyes, the reason why she was suspended was because of the procedures that the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had to follow after her positive test.
According to the Polish player, it wasn't a decision made by a person, but instead, the rules and procedures were followed, and those stated that she had to receive a short suspension.
"They had to follow their rules because it’s not like I was judged by a person; we always had to follow the procedures. Even the decision regarding the one-month suspension was simply dictated by the procedures."
With this period and experience now behind her, Swiatek will fully focus on the 2025 season. She will step onto the courts already in 2024, starting at the World Tennis League, which is an exhibition tournament, and after that, she will compete at the United Cup, which starts on December 27th, 2024.
