Iga Swiatek tested positive for TMZ in an out-of-dr-g competition in August 2024. She even faced a month’s ban from the ITIA consequently. As soon as the news about her ban went out, we saw her facing a major backlash from the tennis community. Some of them were surprised with just a one-month suspension for the world number 2. Tara Moore questioned, “HOW WAS SHE ALLOWED TO PLAY WHILST BEING SUSPENDED?” Even former players like Yevgeny Kafelnikov called for a lifetime ban for players who fail drug tests. Describing the overall situation, Swiatek said it was the “longest and toughest tournament” of her career. Has the Polish star found a bit of ‘peace’ now, though?
Previously, Iga Swiatek admitted that she feared a more negative reaction to her doping ban and revealed that she sees no reason for the case to be dragged on. She was quite pleased to see the support she got from her fans and a few others during this tough phase, but at the same time she revealed, “I was scared that most of the people are going to turn their back on me.” During an interview with TVN24, Iga Swiatek spoke about how horrifying was it for her to know about this doping issue.
“My reaction was very intense. It was a mix of confusion and panic. There was a lot of crying. My manager said my reaction was like someone had died or something serious had happened to my health,” said Swiatek. However, things have calmed down a bit now, and recently, she was also seen in action at the United Cup. Although she helped Poland reach the final, they were defeated by Coco Gauff’s Team USA by 0-2. Iga Swiatek recently gave an interview to Tennis Insider Club and during that interview, she was asked to share her thoughts about navigating public scrutiny amidst the recent doping case.
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In reply to that, Iga Swiatek said, “You can be at peace with yourself that you didn’t do anything wrong, but no one actually 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.” She further added, “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?”
Even after going through all of these in the last few months, Iga Swiatek’s ongoing battle with criticisms is still on. Aussie star, Nick Kyrgios, has been one of the most vocal on this topic. For example, when the 23-year-old said that she couldn’t understand how the substance entered her system, Nick Kyrgios literally dismissed her claims calling it an “excuse“. Later on, while relating to Jannik Sinner’s doping case, he even said, “Two world number ones both getting done for doping is disgusting for our sport.”
Now, recently Nick Kyrgios has taken yet another jibe at Iga Swiatek. The incident occurred after Swiatek’s notebook from the 2024 French Open surfaced while representing Poland in the United Cup final. Tennis journalist Bastien Fachan shared a post on X that showed Iga Swiatek leaving the court after losing a set with her Roland-Garros notebook in hand. After seeing this post, Nick Kyrgios took a subtle dig at Swiatek seemingly referring to her doping controversy, suggesting that her efforts were lacking despite “the other help.” However, there have been several others who have shown strong support for Swiatek in this doping saga. Who are those persons?
Who are those people who showed strong support for Iga Swiatek amidst the doping saga?
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Amid all these criticisms, we saw players like Naomi Osaka and Magdalena Frech showcasing their support for Iga Swiatek. Even the American ski racer, Lindsey Vonn, said, “We have your back!” Apart from that, while commenting on Swiatek’s doping case, Andy Roddick said it’s pretty much “unfortunate” for Swiatek. He stated, “I can’t call it doping…” Even her father, Tomasz Swiatek, slammed the critics and experts for making false assumptions about his daughter in the doping saga.
However, the most interesting comment came from the professor of pharmacology and director of the toxicology laboratory in Garches, Jean-Claude Alvarez. He said, “Iga Swiatek is not guilty of anything! She was only taking melatonin to fall asleep because she was suffering from jet lag. She was trying to sleep better to improve her results. I don’t understand why she was punished with a month’s suspension. We shouldn’t punish her at all. At least in people’s eyes, she would still be innocent.”
via Reuters Paris 2024 Olympics – Tennis – Women’s Singles Bronze Medal Match – Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France – August 02, 2024. Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts during her match against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Even the Russian Anti-Doping Agency showed support for Iga Swiatek amidst her doping controversy. She even got strong backing from the Minister of Sport and Tourism for Poland, Sławomir Nitras. He tweeted, “Even the greatest perfectionists sometimes fall victim to other people’s mistakes.”
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Iga Swiatek will now be keen to forget 2024 as soon as possible and make a strong start at the first Grand Slam tournament in 2025. Can she win the 2025 AO?