Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek recently served a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, as announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). Swiatek, who has held the world's number one ranking for a significant portion of the past two seasons, tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a heart medication, during an out-of-competition test in August.
The ITIA accepted Swiatek's explanation that the positive result was unintentional and stemmed from contaminated melatonin, a non-prescription sleep aid she uses to manage jet lag. The agency acknowledged that her level of fault was minimal, characterizing it as "at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence."
Swiatek served a suspension from September 12th to October 4th, causing her to miss tournaments including the Korea Open, China Open, and Wuhan Open. At the time, the absence was attributed to personal reasons. With only eight days remaining on the sanction, which coincided with a period without competition, she was cleared to return to professional play.
As a consequence of the positive test, Swiatek forfeited $158,944 in prize money from the Cincinnati Open, where she reached the semifinals. In a video posted on Instagram, Swiatek described the ordeal as the "worst experience of my life," emphasizing the stress and anxiety she and her team endured. She reiterated her innocence and expressed relief that the matter had been resolved, allowing her to return to the sport she loves.
This case echoes another high-profile doping incident involving Jannik Sinner, who tested positive for a steroid twice in March but was cleared in August shortly before winning the US Open.
