CHENNAI: In another high-profile doping case in tennis, five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month ban for failing a test.
Months after it was revealed that world No 1 Jannik Sinner tested positive for banned substance twice, this has come as another shocker.
Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) during out-of-competition testing on a sample taken on August 12, 2024, ahead of the Cincinnati Open.
Trimetazidine (TMZ) is a non-specified substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency Code prohibited list and is metabolic modulators. It is banned at all times and incurs a provisional suspension once it is detected in a sample. The drug is usually used to treat disorders like angina and it helps more blood flow to the heart. Sinner too was let off with a one-month ban which has been challenged by WADA in the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS).
The International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA) has confirmed the decision. “Iga Swiatek, a 23-year-old tennis player from Poland, has accepted a one-month suspension under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme, after testing positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024,” said the statement.
