French Open champion Iga Swiatek BANNED from tennis after testing positive for prohibited substance

World No2 Iga Swiatek has been handed a one-month prohibition successful the latest doping ungraded to stone tennis.

The reigning French Open champion tested affirmative for performance-enhancing cause trimetazidine successful August and was provisionally suspended the pursuing month.

Swiatek, who blamed ‘personal reasons’ for her lack from tournaments astatine the time, has present accepted a one-month prohibition for an anti-doping regularisation violation.

However, having already served 22 days of the suspension, the Pole volition not miss immoderate much tennis, arsenic she volition service the remaining 8 days present erstwhile determination is nary competition.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted Swiatek’s mentation that her failed drugs trial was caused by the contamination of the non-prescription medicine melatonin, which she took for pitchy lag and slumber issues.

Subsquently, the ITIA said her level of responsibility was astatine the lowest extremity of the scope for ‘no important responsibility oregon negligence’.

Swiatek’s doping lawsuit is simply a further stroke to the estimation of her sport, coming conscionable 2 months aft men’s No1 Jannik Sinner avoided a prohibition contempt doubly investigating affirmative for banned steroid clostebol successful March – thing the World Anti-Doping Agency are present appealing.

In an Instagram statement, Swiatek described the past 3 months arsenic ‘the worst acquisition successful my life’ and insisted she ‘did thing wrong’.

The five-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote: ‘The lone affirmative doping trial successful my career, showing unbelievably debased level of a banned substance I’ve ne'er heard astir before, enactment everything I’ve worked truthful hard for my full beingness into question. Both maine and my squad had to woody with tremendous accent and anxiety.

‘Now everything has been cautiously explained, and with a cleanable slate I tin spell backmost to what I emotion most. I cognize I volition beryllium stronger than ever. I’m conscionable relieved it’s over.’

Trimetazidine, besides known arsenic TMZ, is usually utilized arsenic a bosom medicine for its quality to heighten humor flow.

It is the cause 23 Chinese swimmer tested affirmative for successful the build-up to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics earlier being cleared to compete, and was besides the substance astatine the centre of the ungraded involving Russian fig skater Kamila Valieva successful the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

After Swiatek was provisionally suspended connected September 12, she missed the Korea Open, the China Open and the Wuhan Open, which led to her losing her No1 ranking.

She past successfully appealed her suspension, allowing her to play successful the WTA Finals successful Saudi Arabia and the Billie Jean King Cup successful Malaga.

Despite present accepting an anti-doping regularisation violation, she volition beryllium escaped to play again arsenic soon arsenic Wednesday, though she has been fined the £125,000 she earned astatine the Cincinnati Open, the lawsuit which followed her affirmative test.

‘Once the root of the TMZ had been established, it became wide that this was a highly antithetic lawsuit of a contaminated product, which successful Poland is simply a regulated medicine,’ said Karen Moorhouse, the ITIA main executive.

‘The merchandise does not person the aforesaid designation globally, and the information that a merchandise is simply a regulated medicine successful 1 state cannot of itself beryllium capable to debar immoderate level of fault.

‘Taking into relationship the quality of the medication, and each the circumstances, it does spot that responsibility astatine the lowest extremity of the scale.’