Iga Swiatek not expecting Wada appeal over doping scandal

SYDNEY – World No. 2 Iga Swiatek said on Dec 27 she was ready to put a drug scandal behind her, insisting there was no reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to appeal against her case.

The 23-year-old Pole tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August, when she was ranked No. 1.

However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the violation was not intentional and she escaped with a one-month sanction that saw her miss three tournaments in Asia and lose her top ranking.

News of the saga emerged only in late November and she will play her first tournament since then at this week’s mixed-teams United Cup in Sydney, ahead of the Australian Open in January.

Swiatek said that, while the incident had been “mentally tough”, the public response had been generally positive, allaying fears that she would be ostracised.

“I think people, most of them, are understanding,” said the five-time Grand Slam champion.

“And the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on.

“I try to just go on with my life and focus on different things, focus on preparing for the season and on tennis, because this is the best thing you can do after a case like that.”

Her case is similar to that of men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy.

He was exonerated by the ITIA for twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March. But Wada appealed against the decision in September and he is awaiting the outcome.

Swiatek said she does not anticipate Wada will follow the same path with her.

“I gave every possible evidence and there is not much, honestly, more to do,” she added.

“There is no point to do an appeal, in our opinion. I’m not expecting an appeal, but I have kind of no influence on what’s going to happen.

“I can say from the processes that I went through and how they treated me, that it seemed fair for me. I managed to give the source (of the contamination) pretty quickly. That’s why the case closed, pretty quickly.

“It was a fair process, and I trust ITIA, any case they do, their conduct treats every player the same.”

In other news, two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep on Dec 27 pulled out of Australian Open qualifying and a warmup tournament in Auckland, citing pain in her knee and shoulder.

The former world No. 1, who like Swiatek is working to re-establish herself after a doping ban, was handed a wild card for qualifying at the first Slam of the year at Melbourne Park.

She was also due to play the lead-up Auckland Classic, but the 33-year-old Romanian said on Instagram her 2025 season was on hold due to her injuries.

Halep was suspended for doping in October 2022 – she had denied wrongdoing – and returned to the sport in March after having her ban reduced from four years to nine months.

She was an open critic of how Swiatek’s case was handled, saying that there was a “big difference in treatment and judgment” and suggested that status played a part. AFP, REUTERS