Iga Swiatek (WTA 2) insisted on Friday on her desire to turn the page on her doping affair. According to her, there is no reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to appeal.
The 23-year-old Pole tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a heart medication, in a sample taken out of competition in August when she was world No. 1. 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 gave personal reasons at the time.
After the announcement of this positive test, the International Agency for Tennis Integrity (Itia) considered that the infraction was not intentional, in a case similar to that which occurred a little earlier in the season at no. 1 men’s world Jannik Sinner. The Italian had tested positive twice in March due to traces of the steroid clostebol, but was exonerated by 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 have no influence’
‘I managed to provide the source (of the 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 from the procedures I followed and the way they treated me from the beginning that it felt right,’ she added.
Iga Swiatek also said that although the incident had been ‘mentally difficult’, the public reaction had been generally positive, allaying her fears. ‘I think most people are understanding,’ said the five-time Grand Slam winner.
/ATS
Senegal
