Iga Swiatek has accepted a suspension from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, so just what is it?
The ITIA has announced on November 28 that Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine from an out-of-competition test in August. It arose while the 23-year-old reigning French Open champion was the WTA Tour world No1, and also forced Swiatek to miss three tournaments.
Swiatek was provisionally suspended over the positive doping test on September 12 but she successfully appealed the verdict. An investigation by the ITIA also determined that Swiatek had no significant fault or negligence as the source was a contaminated regulated medicine.
As the level of Swiatek’s fault was so low – with the regulated medicine produced in Poland agreed as the source for the positive test – the ITIA offered a one-month suspension, which she accepted on November 27. Swiatek’s period of ineligibility lasts until December 4, 2024.
Iga Swiatek issues a statement after testing positive for a banned substance
Swiatek learnt on September 12 that a doping sample collected on August 12 had returned a positive test. The test was conducted before the Cincinnati Open, where the Pole reached the semi-finals before Aryna Sabalenka beat Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 en route to her lifting the title.
The WTA world No2 stresses that Swiatek was shocked to learn she had returned a positive doping test and that it brought on anxiety. Swiatek tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, which she says she had ‘never heard about’ and had not encountered before.
Swiatek was cooperative with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) as it conducted a thorough investigation into the positive doping test. The investigation ruled that Swiatek’s positive doping test stemmed from contaminated medication that she used to aid her sleep.
While the ITIA offered Swiatek the one-month suspension after accepting that she bore little fault for the positive test, the Pole forfeited her prize money from the Cincinnati Open. In a statement on the ban, Swiatek says she wants to get back playing tennis with a ‘clean slate’.
“I’m finally allowed, so I instantly want to share with you something that became the worst experience of my life,” Swiatek captioned a lengthy statement on Instagram. “In the last 2.5 months, I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence.
“The only positive doping test in my career, showing [an] unbelievably low level of a banned substance I’ve never heard about before, put everything I’ve worked so hard for my entire life into question. Both me and my Team had to deal with tremendous stress and anxiety.
“Now, everything has been carefully explained and with a clean slate, I can go back to what I love most. I know I will be stronger than ever. I’m leaving with you a long video and right now I’m just relieved it’s over.
“I want to be open with you, even though I know I did nothing wrong. Out of respect for my fans and the public, I’m sharing all the details of this longest and toughest tournament of my career. My biggest hope is that you will stay with me.”
What is trimetazidine and what is the impact of the banned substance?
Swiatek’s sample from before the Cincinnati Open tested positive for trimetazidine, which is a banned substance by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). But the ITIA did not make her positive test or provisional suspension public as Swiatek appealed within 10 days.
Trimetazidine – often known as TMZ – has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances since 2014. WADA bans TMZ as it considers it to be a hormone and metabolic modulator which improves physical efficiency, especially in endurance sports.
In normal use, trimetazidine is designed to treat cardiovascular disease. But trimetazidine is not currently licensed in the United States of America nor the United Kingdom. Its impact is also largely designed to target myocardial ischemia at the level of mitochondrial energetics.
Swiatek is not the first athlete to test positive for trimetazidine, as Nadezhda Sergeeva was disqualified two days before the Russian bobsledder was meant to race at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang after testing positive for TMZ. She was banned from the Games.
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