World number 2 and four-time Roland-Garros winner Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, trimetazidine (TMZ).
” The player was provisionally suspended from September 22 to October 4, missing three tournaments, which counts towards the sanction, leaving eight days remaining »the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Thursday. Having already served 22 days of suspension while the proceedings were ongoing, Swiatek – a five-time Grand Slam winner and having spent more than 100 weeks as world number 1 – has eight days left to serve and will therefore be eligible to participate in the Australian Open in January.
In a long press release, the International Tennis Integrity Agency explained the reasons for this sudden suspension. The 23-year-old champion tested positive on August 12 before the Cincinnati tournament for a trace concentration of TMZ, a drug normally used as a cardiac treatment for its ability to improve blood flow. Swiatek was informed of the positive test by the ITIA a month later, on September 12, and was given a mandatory provisional suspension. The boss of Roland-Garros appealed the provisional suspension within 10 days of the initial notification and this appeal was accepted, in accordance with the rules of the TADP (Tennis Anti-Doping Program), but it had not been publicly disclosed .
The body, which accepted the thesis of the “contamination of a medicine” and considered that “the degree of fault of the player” was “the weakest of the spectrum”. To understand the source of TMZ, Swiatek submitted hair samples and all of the medications and supplements she uses to independent laboratories. These confirmed the presence of the substance in one of the medications she used, a melatonin supplement to manage her jet lag. This product is not subject to medical prescription in Poland and some other EU countries, and the Polish woman used it on the recommendation of her doctor. During the duration of his provisional suspension, Swiatek missed the Korea Open, the China Open and the Wuhan Open, losing his place as world number one. At the time, she said her absence was due to “personal reasons”.
On October 4, the ITIA recommended that the player’s suspension be lifted immediately, allowing her to participate in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia and the Billie Jean King Cup in Malaga.
