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• Halep questions 'big difference' in doping punishments after Swiatek ban

  Simona Halep has hit out at the "big difference" in how doping cases are handled in tennis after Iga Swiatek was handed a one-month ban on Thursday. 

  World number two Swiatek accepted the one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said. 

  Two-time Grand Slam champion Halep, meanwhile, was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat and later banned for four years in September 2023. 

  The ban was then reduced to nine months after the Romanian's appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March this year. 

  "I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgement?" Halep posted on Instagram.

  "I can't find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer. It can only be bad will from ITIA, the organisation that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence."

  While reducing Swiatek's ban, the ITIA accepted that the positive test was caused by contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin which the five-time Grand Slam champion took for jet lag and sleep issues.

  Halep, 33, had also argued that she had taken a contaminated supplement.

  "I lost two years of my career, I lost many nights when I couldn't sleep, thoughts, anxiety, questions without answers," Halep said. 

  "How is it possible that in identical cases happening around the same time, ITIA to have completely different approaches to my detriment?"

  Meanwhile, the ITIA has said that there were "very important differences" between the two cases. 

  "No two cases are the same, they often involve different circumstances, and direct comparisons are not always helpful," the ITIA told BBC Sport.

  "The product contaminated in Ms Swiatek's case was a regulated medication, not a supplement."

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

  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.

• Sinner: Italy handled the pressure to retain Davis Cup

  Jannik Sinner believes his Italy team-mates handled the pressure of representing their country well as they retained the Davis Cup on Sunday.

  Italy beat the Netherlands in the final, with Matteo Berrettini and Sinner both winning their singles matches in straight sets to clinch the title.

  They are the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013, and, after also winning the Billie Jean King Cup last week, they are only the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years.

  Sinner, on the back of an incredible season that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals, became just the second player in the Open Era to finish a calendar year by winning at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.

  "We are very happy to be back here holding this trophy. It feels like we are in Italy," Sinner said.

  "You have a different pressure and a different weight of having Italy on your shoulders - I think we handled it really well.

  "If it was not important, I would not be here. For me, it means so much to me."

  However, Sinner's year has been disrupted by an ongoing doping controversy, which has cast doubt on his immediate future in the sport.

  "Of course, it's [the doping case] in the head a little bit," Sinner said.

  "The most important part is all the people who know me as a human being trust me - that's why I kept playing the level I have.

  "I was emotionally a bit down, a bit heartbroken. Sometimes life gives you difficulties, and you just have to [deal with] it."

  Berrettini missed last year's Davis Cup through injury, but still went to Malaga to support his team as they won the title.

  "I would tell him 'don't give up'," Berrettini said of his former self from 12 months ago. "Last year was really nice to be here, but at the same time, I remember a moment, like, why did I come?

  "But after the whole week, I said it was really important for you to come, because I support them, but also for me. I took so much energy from those matches.

  "I once again realised how much I care about the Davis Cup. And living those moments, I took all this energy, and I was like next year, you're going to be here, you're going to be fighting for Italy.

  "I used that as an engine for the training sessions and everything that happened afterwards."