Swiatek Reveals Support From Players After Doping Ban But Admits There Are 'Exceptions'
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Iga Swiatek has revealed that other WTA players have reached out to support her, but she acknowledges that some are not as understanding.
Swiatek's doping case became public on November 28th. The four-time French Open champion accepted a one-month suspension because of testing positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine.
She gave a lengthy explanation of the case details in a video. To summarize, Swiatek received a provisional suspension on September 12th after testing positive for an out-of-competition sample submitted on August 12th.
However, Swiatek successfully appealed the provisional ban on October 4th because testing proved her explanation that melatonin, a product that is not prohibited, had been contaminated with trimetazidine.
The 2022 US Open winner then accepted the one-month ban, most of which she had already served while provisionally suspended. Although she is free to return to tennis, the story has still caused controversy and debate.
Simona Halep, who was provisionally suspended for a considerable period in her doping case before eventually receiving an 11-month ban on appeal, is bitter about how she was treated compared to Swiatek.
Former ATP No. 1 Ilie Nastase is also furious about how his compatriot Halep was treated compared to Swiatek. He claims the 23-year-old received a short ban because she is Polish, not Romanian like Halep.
Andy Roddick, another former ATP No. 1, was much more sympathetic to Swiatek. The American believes what she did should not be considered doping because melatonin is legal, meaning the blame should go to the manufacturer who contaminated it.
Nick Kyrgios has been the most critical active player of Swiatek and Jannik Sinner, who also tested positive for a banned substance in 2024. The Australian believes any player in that position deserves an automatic two-year suspension.
In an interview with TVN24 GO, Swiatek outlined that many of her colleagues had been supportive and feared something similar could happen to them, but these were done in private messages rather than in public.
"I definitely received more signs of support, especially in private messages. I talked to many female athletes and most of them told me that this was their biggest fear, that something like this could happen to them. They asked what I would do now."
"When at the beginning no one had time to read the documentation, they asked what the medicine was, where the melatonin came from. I felt support and understanding from them and I think that most athletes are aware that this could happen to them too. But of course, there are exceptions."
The fear from other players is understandable. Swiatek simply bought a product that is not banned and is commonly used by many athletes. Going through a doping scandal afterward because of what the manufacturer did is scary for many players.
Although many have expressed private support for Swiatek, the five-time Grand Slam champion admitted she was horrified by some of the public reaction and sharp criticism directed at her since the story became public.
The scars from testing positive may never fully heal, but at least Swiatek proved the contamination, which prevented her from potentially receiving a lengthier ban.
