Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a banned heart medication, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced Thursday. The positive test came from an out-of-competition screening in August.
The ITIA determined the results were unintentional, caused by contamination of a nonprescription medication, melatonin, which Swiatek used to manage jet lag and sleep issues.
In its statement, the ITIA noted that Swiatek‘s fault was “at the lowest end of the range for no significant fault or negligence.”
Swiatek‘s suspension began on September 12 and was retroactively served through October 4, during which she missed three tournaments: the Korea Open, China Open, and Wuhan Open. At the time, Swiatek cited personal reasons for her absence.
Now, with just eight days remaining on her suspension, she will be eligible to return to competition on Monday, aligning with a period of no scheduled tournaments.
Forfeited earnings
As part of the punishment, Swiatek must forfeit $158,944 in prize money earned during the Cincinnati Open, where she competed after failing the test but before the results were confirmed. She reached the semifinals in that tournament before her eventual loss.
Swiatek addressed the situation in an emotional Instagram video, describing the ordeal as the “worst experience of my life.”
“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 unbelievably low level of a banned substance I’ve never heard about before, put everything I’ve worked so hard for my entire life into question,” she said.
“Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate, I can go back to what I love most.”
Swiatek‘s case follows another high-profile doping controversy in tennis. Italian star Jannik Sinner faced allegations earlier this year after failing two tests for a steroid in March.
He was cleared in August, just in time for the US Open, where he claimed his second Grand Slam title.
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