Superstar world number two Iga Świątek has secretly been serving a one-month suspension from the sport after testing positive for a banned heart medication earlier this year.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency today alerted fans – as did Swiatek on Instagram soon after – that the five-time grand slam champion had recorded a positive reading for a heart medication known as TMZ in August.
The ITIA accepted her explanation that the result was “unintentional” and was caused by contamination.
Świątek had been taking melatonin for jet lag – and somewhere along the way, her medication came in contact with the banned substance.
It was determined her fault was “at the lowest range for no significant fault or negligence.”
Świątek today admitted the positive ping was “the worst experience of my life.”
“The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life,” the 23-year-old said in Polish. (The video was uploaded with English subtitles.) “It took a lot to return to training after the situation nearly broke my heart, so there were many tears and lots of sleepless nights.”
The former world number one added “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.”
Świątek accepted her penalty this week after formally admitting to the anti-doping rule violation.
The grand slam champ also was fined her Chincinnati Open prize, to the tune of $158,944.
The good news for fans is most of the Polish star’s suspension has already been served; she was banned from playing from September 12 through to October 4 and will now serve the final eight days of her sentence to December 4. This means the 23-year-old will still easily have a proper run-in to the 2025 Australian Open in January.
“I can start my new season with a clean slate, focused on what I’ve always done – playing tennis,” said Świątek. She hired Wim Fissette as her coach last month to prepare for her Aussie campaign.
