Doping controversies involving Grand Slam champions continue to cast shadows over women’s tennis. The latest shocking case involves five-time major winner Iga Swiatek, who tested positive for low levels of the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample collected on August 12, 2024, while holding the world No. 1 ranking.
The ITIA confirmed that the positive test resulted from contamination of a regulated non-prescription medication (melatonin), which was manufactured and sold in Poland. Swiatek had been using the medication to manage jet lag and sleep issues, and the violation was deemed unintentional, so her level of fault was determined to be at the lowest end of the scale for “No Significant Fault or Negligence.”
Now we finally have a resolution to the mystery why Swiatek skipped the Hana Bank Korea Open, then unexpectedly withdrew from the China Open, where she was set to defend her title and 1000 points, and from the Wuhan Open. We knew there was something turbulent going on but never suspected a doping issue!
In her statement, the world No. 2 expressed the emotional toll of the ordeal:
In the last two-and-a-half months I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence. The only positive doping test in my career, showing…
