Iga Swiatek revealed on Friday that she considered making her doping case public while awaiting the outcome. However, she ultimately decided against it, believing it would be easier to explain the situation once the authorities had made their decision.
The world number two tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in August and was provisionally banned the following month. She initially attributed her absences from tournaments in Asia to personal issues and fatigue.
The five-time Grand Slam champion successfully appealed her provisional ban and returned to competition in October. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted her explanation that the positive test was due to contamination from her sleep medication, melatonin.
Swiatek accepted a one-month ban, which ended on December 4, after accounting for the time already served.
“I think it’s easier to tell the whole story when it is complete,” Swiatek told Polish media at the Australian Open. “For a long time, while I was in Warsaw and unable to play, I wondered if it would have been better to share what happened.”
“But the truth is, at the time, with no clear source or decision from the ITIA, we would have only been partially informing people. That would have caused more stress and problems, and I would have been judged negatively.”
She added, “The current system, which allows time to resolve the issue before going public, seems reasonable. If the case had taken longer, the information would have eventually come out.”
Swiatek’s doping case, along with that of men’s world number one Jannik Sinner, has led some players to accuse the sport of double standards, particularly those who have waited months or years to clear their names.
Swiatek expressed concern over how she might be perceived. “I’ve always worked hard to be a good example, to show integrity and good behavior. Not having control over this case really stressed me out,” she said.
However, Swiatek received support from her peers. “In the locker room, the girls were great. Most of them approached me and asked, ‘How can we avoid this? Is there any way to be more careful?’ They were worried this could happen to them as well,” she said. “I appreciate that support because it made me feel better when I returned and didn’t know what to expect.”
Swiatek’s first-round match at the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, will be against Katerina Siniakova.
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