Tennis has another doping case. After world number one Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, the women's world number two, has also been found positive.
The five-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments was banned for a month after testing positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ). This was announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Thursday. Swiatek formally admitted to the anti-doping rule violation on Wednesday and accepted her punishment.
The 23-year-old Polish player provided the positive sample out of competition in August. She was then provisionally suspended from September 22 to October 4 and missed three tournaments in Asia following the US Open.
Fault "at the lowest end of the scale"
The ITIA accepted Swiatek's explanation that the ingestion was unintentional and caused by the contamination of a non-prescription drug, melatonin. This had been taken by Swiatek for problems with jet lag and insomnia. It was found that her fault was "at the lowest end of the scale for no significant fault or negligence", the ITIA stated.
Swiatek is already the second sensational doping case in international tennis in recent times. In March, Jannik Sinner tested positive twice for a banned steroid. In August, just before the US Open, which he won, the Italian was acquitted. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA lodged an appeal and the case is currently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Videos from the department
SDA
