(Sydney) World No.2 Iga Swiatek insisted on Friday on her desire to turn the page on her doping affair from last season, saying that in her opinion there was no reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency ( AMA) appeals.
Posted at 7:04 a.m.
The 23-year-old Pole tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August, when she was world number one. The affair only came to light three months later, after the player had been suspended for a month. Absent from three tournaments in Asia, she cited personal reasons at the time.
After the announcement of this positive test, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for its part considered that the violation was not intentional, in a case similar to that which occurred a little earlier in the season to Jannik Sinner, world number one among men.
The Italian tested positive twice in March due to traces of the steroid clostebol, but was cleared by the ITIA. WADA nevertheless appealed in September, with the decision remaining pending.
As she prepares to launch her season at the United Cup in Sydney, Iga Swiatek said she does not expect WADA to follow the same path in her case.
“I have provided all the evidence possible and there is honestly not much more that can be done,” she pleaded.
“I managed to provide the source [de la contamination] quite quickly. This is why the case was closed quite quickly,” according to her.
“So I don’t expect a call, but I have no influence on what happens. I can say, based on the procedures I followed and the way they treated me from the start, that it seemed right to me,” the Pole further argued.
Swiatek also said that although the incident had been “mentally difficult”, the public reaction had been generally positive, allaying their fears.
“I think most people are understanding,” said the five-time Grand Slam winner.
