Iga Swiatek: “Even when I told the truth, they called me a liar”
The Polish tennis player, ranked number 2 in the world, referred to her doping case: “It was so chaotic, I am glad it ended”
Swiatek finished 2024 with what she described as “the worst experience of my life,” after being suspended for a month due to the presence of banned substances in her blood.
The Polish tennis player managed to return to activity before the end of the year, closing it ranked second in the world, after Aryna Sabalenka.
She hopes to start 2025 differently and maybe add a sixth Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, and meanwhile shared her feelings about the case in an interview on French tennis player Caroline Garcia’s podcast.
“It affected me personally, I thought everyone would turn their backs on me and I didn’t know what to do,” she admitted.
It was so chaotic, I didn’t know if it was going to be a two-year, three-month, or something else punishment.
You can be at peace with yourself and think you did nothing wrong, but no one really treats you like that.
Especially the people who chase you even when you tell the truth, you feel like they treat you like a liar.”
After the test was analyzed by several different laboratories, Swiatek proved that the problem came from a melatonin-based medicine purchased in Poland and used to treat fatigue and sleep disorders. Therefore, it was determined that the 23-year-old tennis player did not commit an intentional offense and her level of negligence was defined as “low.”
Swiatek added: “I fought so hard for what I achieved in recent years, and what if people suddenly take it from me? What if they look at me differently? I was at home when the case exploded, and people always came for autographs or selfies, and I thought to myself: will this happen again in a month? It was hard, but I couldn’t say anything.
I am glad it ended.”
The positive test for Swiatek came a few months after that of Yannick Sinner, ranked number 1 among men.
The lenient treatment they received caused anger among many tennis players, including Nick Kyrgios, who raged: “Two number 1 ranked players fail doping tests, it is disgusting for our sport.
It just looks terrible.
The integrity of tennis and now everyone knows it, but no one wants to talk about it is in a terrible place.”