WTA

Swiatek accepts one-month suspension after testing positive for banned substance

By Sports Desk November 28, 2024

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.

The world number two tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication known as TMZ, after providing an out-of-competition sample in August 2024. She was world number one at the time.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) have determined the source was a contaminated nonprescription medication, melatonin, used for issues with jet lag and sleeping.

The ITIA thus concluded that Swiatek was not responsible for significant fault or negligence in the test. Therefore, the suspension will last just one month.

ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said: "Once the source of the TMZ had been established, it became clear that this was a highly unusual instance of a contaminated product, which in Poland is a regulated medicine.

"However, the product does not have the same designation globally, and the fact that a product is a regulated medication in one country cannot of itself be sufficient to avoid any level of fault. Taking into account the nature of the medication, and all the circumstances, it does place that fault at the lowest end of the scale."

It is the second high-profile doping case this year, as Jannik Sinner failed two tests for a steroid in March but was cleared in August.

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