The world number two has accepted a one-month ban after testing positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in a sample taken in August during a period without competition, as announced by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). acronym in English). The 23-year-old Pole is one of the symbols of the women’s circuit: and a US Open—and she dominated the WTA rankings with an iron fist for the last year and a half,
According to the agency, Swiatek tested positive after contamination with a medication purchased without a prescription (melatonin) and regulated in Poland. The ITIA has considered that the infraction was accidental—not intentional—given that the tennis player was taking the drug for jet lag and the sleep problems he suffered due to the amount of travel he makes during the year due to the circuit calendar.
The agency has reached the conclusion after an investigation in which they interviewed the player and her environment and analyzed the samples in the laboratories of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The body considered that the Pole’s level of fault is in the lowest range of the World Anti-Doping Code scale, which is defined as “No significant fault or negligence” (No Significant Fault or Negligencein English).
Swiatek was first suspended between September 22 and October 4, a period in which she missed three tournaments. The Pole appealed and was able to play again, but finally accepted the sanction, of which she only has eight days left to serve having already stopped at the beginning of the fall.
The winner of four Roland Garros has also had to give up the money she got for reaching the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open in August – a Masters 1000, the second category after the Grand Slams – where she lost in the semifinals in two sets against Sabalenka, by playing it right after testing positive for trimetazidine.
