By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday December 1, 2024
The Pole talks about the nightmare of testing positive for a banned substance and how she worked through the issue with the help of her team.
Photo Source: Robert Prange/Getty
After news broke that Iga Swiatek had been suspended for one month due to testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, the Pole took to social media to discuss her feelings about the case.
Swiatek, who initially tested positive on August 12th and learned of the news on September 12th, immediately appealed her case with the ITIA. She said it was the most difficult moment of her life.
Provisionally suspended on September 12th, Swiatek was able to prove that the melatonin that she had been taking was contaminated, which led to the eventual decision to lift her provisional ban and – eventually – levy a one-month suspension – she will be reinstated on December 4th.
“It was a blow for me, I was shocked and this whole situation made me very anxious,” Swiatek said in a statement provided by her team. “At first I couldn’t understand how that was even possible and where it came from. It turns out testing revealed historically lowest levels of trimetazidine, a substance I’ve never heard about before. I don’t think I even knew it existed, I have never encountered it, nor did people around me. So I had a strong sense of injustice, and these first few weeks were really chaotic.”
The second-ranked Pole says she cooperated with the ITIA and immediately sought to determine the source of the very low level of the trimetazidine in her system.
“We instantly reacted and cooperated completely with the ITIA,” she said. “I confirmed with all of my team and my family that none of them took or had been exposed to trimetazidine. The detected concentration, which was extremely low, suggested - or rather made it obvious - that either the sample was contaminated, or a supplement or medication that I was taking was contaminated.
“Which is why we focused on running tests on all nutritional supplements and medications I was taking. The tests showed that melatonin I’ve been using for a long time – the batch I had on me and had used before the Cincinnati tournament – was contaminated during manufacturing. It was a shock to hear, but it also explained a lot and locating the source is key in these cases.”
“What mattered most for me was to prove my innocence,” Swiatek said. “Now that the whole thing is drawing to a close, I was put on a symbolic one month suspension. 22 days are behind me, 8 days still to go. That means I can start my new season with a clean slate, focused on what I’ve always done, simply playing tennis.
“This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot. The ITIA agreed to the lifting of the provisional suspension on October 4 (unfortunately after the entry deadline for the Wuhan Open), which allowed me to go back to playing so quickly, compete in WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup, which gave me a lot of positive emotions and made me enjoy my game again.
“The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life, it took a lot of strength, returning to training after this situation nearly broke my heart. So there were many tears and lot’s of sleepless nights. The worst part of it was the uncertainty. I didn’t know what was going to happen with my career, how things would end or if I would be allowed to play tennis at all.
“I admit this situation hit me hard, because all my life I strived to have a career that could be an example for generations to come. A career that’s going to be fair in a sense, that will show I was fair and will embody all the values a top athlete should stand for.”