Australian Open: Iga Swiatek felt uncomfortable justifying absence during doping ban | Tennis news
Iga Swiatek said she felt embarrassed because she couldn’t be honest about being away from the tour.
The world number two failed a doping test in August and served a one-month ban after it was accepted that medication she was taking to combat jet lag was contaminated.
That news was only announced in November, when it was learned that she had missed three tournaments during the fall while serving a temporary ban, which she attributed at the time to personal reasons, fatigue and a change of coach.
Coming so soon after the announcement in August that men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner had failed two tests in March that were not made public at the time, it was another major blow to the sport’s reputation.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Open, Swiatek said: “The first three weeks I would say were pretty chaotic. There was no way to get answers to questions. We just focused on finding sources.
“But I have to say it certainly wasn’t easy. It was probably the worst period of my life. And the fact that I had no control over this whole situation and had no chance to avoid it, it’s even worse because I’m a bit of a control freak.
“Having the feeling that everything I’ve built can be taken away so quickly because of something you have no control over, it was quite crazy and really abstract to me.
“The first two or three weeks I was just focused on myself because I wasn’t in a good position. I only had problems on the court. I thought that tennis did that to me a little. I didn’t really read things because the priority was me and my well-being.
“After that it got pretty embarrassing. We chose to say personal reasons for the first tournament because we honestly thought the suspension would be lifted soon.
“It was obvious from the beginning that something was contaminated because the level of that substance in my urine was so low that it had to be contamination.
“Because we didn’t know what was going to happen because we had no control over ITIA [International Tennis Integrity Agency] decision, we also couldn’t make any logical plan. We started with personal problems because I also needed time to understand everything.”
Swiatek returned to play at the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup Finals after her temporary suspension was lifted, but before the news broke.
She admitted that she was afraid of the reaction, but thanked her rivals for their support.
Apart from not being able to play, this was the worst for me, what people would say, she said. “Because I’ve always worked hard to be a good example, to show my integrity, to show good behavior.
“Again, not having control over this case really freaked me out a bit. But in the dressing room the girls are great. I’ve seen it before in this exhibition in Abu Dhabi [in December] that they are really supportive.
“Most of them even came up to me. They said, ‘Hey, how can we avoid this? Is there any way we can be more careful?’ They are worried that it could happen to them.
“There are a lot of top players – I won’t say names – who are really supportive. I really appreciate it, because I felt better when I came back and I didn’t know how it was going to be.”
Second seed Swiatek will face Czech Katerina Siniakova in the first round in Melbourne.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
- ABN AMRO Open Rotterdam (ATP 500) – 3.-9. February
- Dallas Open (ATP 500) – 3.-9. February
- Delray Beach Open (ATP 250) – 10.-16. February
- IEB+ Argentina Open (ATP 250) – 10.-16. February
- Open 13 Provence (ATP 250) – 10.-16. February
- Transylvania Open (WTA 250) – 3.-9. February
- Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) – 3.-8. February
- Qatar TotalEnergies Open (WTA 1000) – 9.-15. February
- Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (WTA 1000) – 16.-22. February
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