Paris (AFP) – French Open champion Iga Swiatek escaped with a one-month suspension for a positive doping test after convincing the International Tennis Integrity Agency that it had not been intentional, the ITIA announced on Thursday.
Poland’s Swiatek, 23, tested positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024. The ITIA, however, accepted that it was caused by “the contamination of a regulated non-prescription medication (melatonin), manufactured and sold in Poland that the player had been taking for jet lag and sleep issues.”
“The violation was therefore not intentional…the player’s level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence.'” Swiatek, who has five Grand Slam titles to her name, accepted the month’s suspension.
She was provisionally suspended from September 22 until October 4, missing three tournaments, which counts towards the sanction, leaving eight days remaining. She will also forfeit prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament directly following the test, where she lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
© 2024 AFP
