Iga Swiatek has stirred up a new controversy in the tennis world! The five-time Grand Slam champion has been handed a one-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. In an out-of-competition sample in August 2024, she tested positive for a heart medication, trimetazidine (TMZ). However, the ITIA has accepted that it was caused by contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin, manufactured and sold in Poland which the Polish star took for jet lag and sleep issues. Therefore, her level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for “No significant fault or negligence.” How is the tennis world reacting to this ruling?

Well, recently, Simona Halep shared a long note hinting at the preferential treatment being given to the world number 2. In her IG post, she wrote, “I’m sitting and trying to understand, but it’s really impossible for me to understand something like this. I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgment? I can’t find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer. It can only be bad will from ITIA, the organization that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence.” For those who are unaware, Halep received a nine-month after testing positive for the banned drug Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open!

The 33-year-old Romanian tennis star further went on to add, “I really wanted to destroy the last years of my career, I wanted something that I could never have imagined would be wanted. I always believed in good, I believed in fairness, I believed in goodness. It was painful, is painful and maybe the injustice that was done to me will always be painful. How is it possible that in identical cases happening around the same time ITIA to have completely different approaches to my detriment. How could I accept that the WTA and the players council did not want to return me the ranking that I deserved ?!” Simona Halep has played just 2 matches this season and unfortunately for her, she got defeated in both of them.

She then highlighted, “I lost two years of my career, I lost many nights when I couldn’t sleep, thoughts, anxiety, questions without answers… but I won justice. It turned out that it was a contamination and that the biological passport was a pure invention. And I won something else, my soul remained clean!! I feel disappointed, I feel mad, I feel frustrated, but I do not feel evil even now. I am grateful for the support and unconditional love of those who have been by my side every day. THANK YOU!” 

Halep looked quite disappointed with the way things have gone in her case, but she also didn’t forget to thank who stood beside her through these thick and thin in her career. She said, “In all the naughtiness, I also received love because those who offered me love in those moments really knew me! Perhaps this is the biggest victory! As we know well that every morning the sun rises for everyone, but it’s good to rise finding yourself with a flawless soul! And that’s how I am, packed and proud of what I am!“

Iga Swiatek’s suspension comes after the men’s world number one Jannik Sinner tested positive for clostebol in March 2024. Even in Sinner’s case, the ITIA had accepted that there was “no fault or negligence” attached to the Italian superstar. However, later on, we saw WADA launching an appeal to the CAS against that ruling. Here in Iga Swiatek’s case, the WTA has acknowledged ITIA’s decision in a statement and has also offered its “full support” to Swiatek during this “difficult time.” Is the tennis world showing support for Iga Swiatek, though?

The tennis world gets divided while sharing their opinions on Iga Swiatek’s doping case

According to Iga Swiatek, in the last two and a half months she was subjected to strict ITIA proceedings, which later confirmed her innocence in this controversial case. She was provisionally suspended from September 12, before successfully appealing, missing three tournaments as a result. Since her provisional suspension was lifted on October 4, her period of ineligibility will end on December 4. Not only that, Iga Swiatek was also forced to forfeit the prize money that she received during the Cincinnati Open.

How does the tennis world look at all these things, now? Well, the Canadian tennis star, Denis Shapovalov was one of the first players to react to Jannik Sinner’s doping saga. At that time, he expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the way the ITIA had handled the case. He stated that he felt there was a lack of transparency and also opined that there might be favoritism towards the world’s number one. What did he say in Iga Swiatek’s case, though?

Denis Shapovalov took to his social media account to draw a comparison with Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep‘s case. He wrote, “that doesn’t make it fair that players Halep and others had a crazy long bans for similar things. I’m glad it’s changing because the doping rules are unfair. But guys like Ymer are still suspended and he’s never even tested positive.” However, Naomi Osaka showed her support towards Iga Swiatek in this recent controversy. She was spotted dropping a “❤️” in Swiatek’s recent video message, which addressed the doping issue.

A few others questioned, “How was she (Swiatek) allowed to play?“ So, there have been some mixed reactions coming in surrounding this controversial incident. What are your thoughts on this, though? Share with us in the comment box.