- Iga Świątek has had a fantastic 2024 season on the WTA Tour, winning five singles titles, including the French Open.
- She’ll finish the year as the No.2 player, but Swiatek has been found guilty of using a banned substance, which was found in her melatonin.
- Swiatek is suspended for a month, but it was decided that it was unintentional on her part.
The WTA Tour season for 2024 has come to an end, and it was a successful campaign on the court for Iga Świątek. The Polish star won five times, and added to her Grand Slam total with another French Open win.
However, it’ll conclude on a sour note as it was announced that Swiatek has been given a one-month suspension. She tested positive for a banned substance, that was found in melatonin.
Swiatek Suspension Almost Over Already, ITIA Claims It Was Unintentional
On November 28, it was reported that Swiatek accepted the one-month suspension levied by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
Swiatek failed a drug test in August, testing positive for trimetazidine, which is a heart medication found in melatonin. The Polish star was taking melatonin, which is an over-the-counter medication, for sleeping issues caused by jet lag. The ITIA claimed that Swiatek’s fault level was, “at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence”.
The world’s No.2 player will be eligible to return on Monday, December 2, as she was already suspended from September 12 to October 4, causing Swiatek to miss three events. She also had to forfeit her prize money from the Cincinnati Open, which was Swiatek’s first tournament back. The total amount was $158,944 as Swiatek lost to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. Sabalenka will end the season as the No.1 player in the world.
It is a tough end to the season for Swiatek, who finished the year with the most wins on the WTA Tour with five. The 23-year-old won in Qatar, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome, and in Paris. Swiatek’s French Open win was her fourth in five years at Roland Garros. She also finished with the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, where Swiatek was the favorite at tennis betting sites.
Does Swiatek’s Case Differ from Jannik Sinner and Simone Halep?
There have been a few doping cases in the tennis world recently. In August, Jannik Sinner tested positive for Clostebol, which is a banned steroid. The ITIA determined that it got into Sinner’s system as his physio had sprayed it on his own finger, then worked on Sinner’s body. Sinner was cleared of any wrongdoing. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the outcome, and wants him to be suspended for 1–2 years.
In October 2022, Simona Halep tested positive for Roxadustat, and she received a staggering four-year suspension. The Romanian appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in February 2024, and her suspension was reduced to nine months, and she was cleared to play in March 2024. However, following the Swiatek case, Halep took to her Instagram and lasted out at the ITIA.
If tennis wants to remain relevant, it needs to be more transparent about drug use. While Swiatek didn’t do it deliberately, it is interesting that her suspension was already going in September, and we just found out about it. Tennis can’t afford to suffer trust issues with its fans.
