Swiatek has agreed to a one-month suspension following a positive doping test, as reported by the ITIA.

Swiatek has agreed to a one-month suspension following a positive doping test, as reported by the ITIA.

World number two and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension following a positive test for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), as announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Thursday. 

Swiatek's positive result stemmed from an out-of-competition sample collected in August. The ITIA, which oversees tennis's anti-doping efforts, acknowledged that the positive test was due to contamination from her melatonin medication, which is available over the counter in Poland. Swiatek indicated that she had been using melatonin to address jet lag and sleep difficulties. Given the absence of significant fault or negligence, the ITIA determined that her case fell within "the lowest end of the range" for sanctions, leading to the one-month suspension that the 23-year-old accepted.

According to the ITIA's statement, "The player was provisionally suspended from September 12 until October 4, missing three tournaments, which counts towards the sanction, leaving eight days remaining." Additionally, she forfeited prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the event immediately following her positive test.

Swiatek, who withdrew from tournaments in Asia in September due to personal issues and fatigue, described the experience of testing positive as the "worst experience of my life." At the time of the test, she was ranked world number one, but after missing the Asian tournaments, Aryna Sabalenka surpassed her in the rankings to finish the year as the top player. 

In a statement on Instagram, Swiatek remarked, "In the last 2.5 months, I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence. The only positive doping test in my career, showing an unbelievably low level of a banned substance I had never heard of before, put everything I have worked so hard for my entire life into question. Both my team and I had to endure tremendous stress and anxiety. Now that everything has been thoroughly clarified, I can return to what I love most with a clean slate."

Swiatek, whose anti-doping violation was not disclosed at the time, had her provisional suspension revoked after submitting samples of her melatonin product to the WADA-accredited SMRTL laboratory in Salt Lake City, which confirmed the presence of low levels of TMZ in both opened and sealed containers of the product. The suspension was lifted on October 4, and the matter was referred to an Independent Tribunal.

WORLD NUMBER ONES FAIL DOPE TESTS  

Swiatek is not the only world number one to encounter a doping test failure this year; Italy's Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked male player, also tested positive for the anabolic agent clostebol. However, Sinner was exonerated by an independent tribunal prior to the U.S. Open, which he subsequently won. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has since appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the tribunal's conclusion of "no fault or negligence."

With two prominent figures in tennis avoiding lengthy suspensions for anti-doping violations, concerns about the sport's integrity have emerged. In a media briefing on Thursday, ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse stated, "These are not instances of intentional doping. We are addressing inadvertent breaches of the regulations. Therefore, I do not believe this should alarm tennis enthusiasts. The transparency and openness we are demonstrating reflect the comprehensive nature of our anti-doping program."

Swiatek participated in the Cincinnati tournament, where she was the top seed and reached the semi-finals, earning nearly $159,000 in prize money at the event won by Sabalenka. She then competed in the U.S. Open, where she was eliminated in the quarter-finals, followed by the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where she did not progress beyond the group stage. Additionally, she represented Poland in the Billie Jean King Cup, where the team was defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual champions, Italy. The women's tour (WTA) expressed their acknowledgment of the ITIA's decision and affirmed their "full support" for Swiatek, emphasizing her consistent dedication to fair play.