“Probability exists,” Iga Swiatek hopes WADA won’t appeal her doping case
Iga Swiatek hopes WADA won't appeal her doping case, despite existing probabilities that the sports body will do.
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Iga Swiatek (Image via X)
Iga Swiatek has returned to the court following her one-month suspension, but the emotional scars of her recent doping case remain deeply embedded in her conscience. Even though the Polish star was able to successfully prove her innocence, the harsh criticism that followed afterward was a big blow to her reputation.
In an interview on Polish TV, the 23-year-old reflected on her recent travails off the court. All of that began when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) revealed that Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine days after competing at the Paris Olympics. Despite the incident happening in August, it was just revealed in November.
The tennis body also pointed out that the positive test result was due to contamination of the over-the-counter drug melatonin, which athletes use for jet lag and sleep problems. After further investigations, the ITIA found no significant fault or negligence on Swiatek’s part. Nevertheless, she was handed a one-month suspension as punishment.
The suspension ended on December 4 after it was once lifted for her to feature at the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup Finals last month. Nonetheless, there is a question of whether the case would be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). But Swiatek hopes it doesn’t happen.
Of course, such a probability exists but I think they have no grounds.
Iga Swiatek said speaking to Anita Werner on Fakty po Faktach on TVN24
However, the probability that WADA will appeal Swiatek’s doping case is very likely. The body recently appealed Jannik Sinner’s doping case over a month after the ITIA had declared him innocent. However, the only difference was that Sinner was not given any suspension by the ITIA while Swiatek was slammed with a one-month punishment.
Iga Swiatek reveals how much she spent to prove her innocence in the doping case
After Iga Swiatek received the message from the ITIA that she tested positive for trimetazidine, the Polish star acted immediately. She was quick to hire some of the best lawyers in the business to clear her from any wrongdoing that was reported by the ITIA. That paid off for her, with the team helping her to avoid getting a heavy suspension.
However, she was forced to pay a large sum of money for the entire process. The former World No. 1 recently revealed during the aforementioned interview how much it cost her to defend her doping case.
I spent about $70,000 on a lawyer, $15,863 on expert opinions and tests. On top of that, there was also the loss of the financial prize for Cincinnati, but – to be honest – it didn’t matter to me. The most important thing was to prove my innocence. I give these amounts in order to make people realize the problems faced by athletes who don’t make as much money as I do on the court and play sports in which salaries are much lower.
Iga Swiatek said
Swiatek has served her one-month suspension and can feature in any event. She will open her 2025 campaign with the Australian Open, a title she has yet to win in her career despite her good record on the hard court.
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Victor Okechukwu
(689 Articles Published)