US No. 2 Pegula Reacts to Swiatek Doping Case, Highlights 'Frustrating' Issue
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Current US No. 2 player on the WTA Tour, Jessica Pegula, reacted to the news of Iga Swiatek testing positive for a banned substance.
Since Swiatek's positive doping test for trimetazidine (TMZ) was announced after the season already ended, many tennis players didn't get to react to it unless they really wanted it via their social media accounts.
Another previously suspended World No. 1 player, Simona Halep, was one of those who voiced her frustration, as she was not happy about the difference in handling of her case and Swiatek's.
Other players, however, didn't get a chance to be asked the question about it, as there are currently no tennis tournaments running, but as during every off-season, there are a few exhibitions.
One of those was The Garden Cup, which was a special tennis event held in the Madison Square Garden in New York, with Carlos Alcaraz beating Ben Shelton in the men's match and Emma Navarro overcoming Jessica Pegula in the women's match.
At the event, all players also talked to the media, and naturally, one of the questions was about the reigning World No. 2's positive doping test, which resulted in a one-month ban.
Speaking to the media at the Essex House on Central Park South, Pegula explained that she understood the reasoning why Swiatek avoided a longer suspension.
"I don’t know, it seems like they investigated it and she had her reasoning. I mean you have to trust that they’re doing their job—that they’re coming to the right conclusion."
At the same time, the current American No. 2 player understands that some people might be frustrated by the decision, as they can't see the full reasoning behind it, but according to Pegula's words, she received an explanation for it.
"I think it’s just frustrating for people on the outside—or even for some players—that it just seems so hit or miss with how people get punished. I’ve been explained why it happens. But at the same time it’s like ‘Yeah, but how does this vary so deeply?’ And I think that can be frustrating."
So even though some might have been surprised, according to the explanation that Pegula received, which she didn't go deeper into, everything seemed to be according to the rulebook.
"But how it was explained to me, it seems pretty cut and dried almost. And the explanation made sense."
One thing that Pegula was a bit surprised by was the timing of the suspension, as essentially, the Polish player's suspension ran out during the off-season, which might not necessarily seem like a punishment.
"You're kind of wondering how that works when you're not competing how it doesn't seem to affect anything so it's really not much of a punishment."
"But I mean she did miss the Asian swing and that also may have hurt her chances for the year-end No. 1, which is obviously massive for her. Money-wise and sponsors and being able to have that No. 1 spot hurt too. So I'm sure she didn't want to miss those."
