Iga Swiatek ‘at peace’ with herself because she didn’t intentionally dope despite people treating her ‘like a liar’

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek faced a one-month ban for accidentally consuming trimetazidine when she was taking melatonin.

Iga Swiatek ‘at peace’ with herself because she didn’t intentionally dope despite people treating her ‘like a liar’

Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

Iga Swiatek doesn’t want the doping controversy to affect her anymore. Though she knows many of her critics accuse her of intentional doping, she’s at ‘peace’ with herself because she knows the truth about what actually happened.

Swiatek tested positive for the banned heart medication, trimetazidine, in August last year because of contaminated melatonin she was consuming for sleep and jet lag issues. She faced a three-week provisional suspension during which she missed three tournaments on the Asian swing.

Her missing the mandatory WTA events was one of the reasons behind her losing out on the No.1 spot in the rankings. The three-week provisional suspension was included in the one-month ban she was handed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

Her failing a drug test and not facing a harsh punishment sparked controversy and fans, tennis pundits, and even her colleagues censured her. Swiatek however doesn’t want to pay heed to the controversy anymore.

You can be at peace with yourself that you didn’t do anything wrong, but no one treats you like that… especially the people that are kind of prosecuting you. Even when you’re telling the truth, you feel like they treat you like a liar.

Iga Swiatek told Tennis Insider Club

The Pole said she has worked hard to stand where she is now. But after the doping saga, she was worried about public backlash, about her fans turning into critics and suspecting her.

I fought for everything so hard the past years. What if people are going to, in their head, take it away from me? What if they’re going to look at me differently? I was home at the time and still, there were people coming for autographs or for a selfie. And I was like ‘Well, are you gonna do that in one month?’

Iga Swiatek added

Iga Swiatek sets her eyes on first Australian Open title

Iga Swiatek kickstarted her campaign for the 2025 season at the United Cup. Her matches helped Team Poland to reach back-to-back finals but they were defeated by Team USA.

Iga Swiatek (6)
Iga Swiatek (Image via X)

En route to the final, Swiatek won every singles match. In the final, however, Coco Gauff did not let the 23-year-old improve the head-to-head record as the American clinched two consecutive wins over her.

It was the 20-year-old’s third win against Swiatek in their 14 meetings, with the second coming at the WTA Finals. After their match, Hubert Hurkacz failed to level the scores as he suffered a straight-set defeat against Taylor Fritz.

All these players will now shift their focus to the Australian Open which starts next week. Swiatek has never reached the final in Melbourne and was defeated in the third round last year.