Iga Swiatek admits she was surprised by the reaction to the news of her positive drug test.
In November it was announced that the Pole had tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine in an out-of-competition drug test in August.
As a result she was given a one-month suspension that lasted from September 12 to October 4, though she successfully appealed the verdict.
This forced Swiatek to miss three tournaments and it also cost her the number one ranking, as Aryna Sabalenka reached the summit of women’s tennis after winning the Wuhan Open.
This news came so soon after the ATP Tour’s top-ranked player Jannik Sinner tested positive for steroid clostebol, and the reaction has been divided to say the least.
What did Iga Swiatek say about the reaction to her positive drug test?
The second half of Iga Swiatek‘s 2024 season was already a challenging one before the positive drug test.
She did not win another title after the French Open and suffered a shock loss to Qinwen Zheng at the Olympic Games, which was played at Roland Garros.
But though she returned to action after her suspension at the WTA Finals, Swiatek’s season was never the same. She is starting the new season at the Untied Cup where she was asked about her reaction to her drug test.
She said: “I think their response has been more positive than I thought. So basically, honestly, I can’t really say objectively because I haven’t been much on the Internet.
“I try to, you know, just go on with my life and focus on different things, focus on preparing for the season and on tennis, because this is the best thing you can do after a case like that. But overall, the reaction in Poland basically, because this is mostly what I read, has been pretty, you know, supportive.
“I really, really appreciate that, because even when I miss China swing and nobody knew why, it wasn’t so easy. So after my case was, the information about my case were released, I was scared that most of the people are going to turn their back on me. But I felt the support, and it’s great.
“Obviously there are going to be some negative comments and you’re not going to avoid that. That’s something that is always going to kind of follow us no matter what happens in our lives. We are public persons. Yeah, well, I just have to accept that and I don’t really care about those, honestly.”
Iga Swiatek starts her 2025 season at the United Cup
Swiatek has put the setback behind her and is focusing on having a strong start to the 2025 season.
She commences her campaign at the United Cup, a team event which she helped Poland the final of in January 2024.
Swiatek is feeling recharged and ready to help her country be in with a good chance of contending for the United Cup crown once again.
“Last year we were so close, Swiatek told Tennis Australia on Monday. “[Had] match points in Hubie’s [Hurckacz’s] match.
“So for sure this year we want to have another chance and hopefully go to the latest stages of the tournament to fight for winning it because I think the Polish team is amazing. We have great experience already playing with each other.
“Last year’s match brings a lot of emotions but I still remember it as a positive one, even though we lost the last one. It was pretty entertaining for sure.”
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