Iga Swiatek was “horrified” by the backlash against her doping ban and says she does not expect an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after her one-month suspension.
Five-time major winner Switek, 23, tested positive. for the heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) in August, when she was world no.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the test result was due to contamination and Swiatek’s brief suspension ended on 4 December.
Men’s world number one Jenk Sinner was not banned after failing two Tests in March. WADA has appealed against this decision. — but Switek said she sees “no reason” for a similar result in her case.
On the possibility of a WADA appeal, Switek said: “I was suspended for a long time and I lost. [world] Because of this number one. I also know how the procedure worked and I gave all possible evidence.
“Honestly, there’s not much to do. So I’m not expecting an appeal, but I have no influence on what’s going to happen.”
The ITIA accepted that Swiatek’s positive test was caused by contamination from a regular over-the-counter drug melatonin manufactured and sold in Poland, which Swiatek took for jet lag and sleep problems.
Swiatek’s fault level was found to be at the lowest end of the range due to ‘no significant error or negligence’.
Poole missed three tournaments – Korea Open, China Open and Wuhan Open – during his suspension. He was also forced to forfeit his prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament that directly followed the Test.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the season-opening United Cup in Australia, the four-time French Open winner addressed the media and public reaction to her suspension for the first time.
Switek said: “I think their reaction has been more positive than I thought.
“I think most people understand and people who read the documents and are aware of how the system works know that I was not at fault and I had no influence on what was going on. .
“The overall response in Poland, mainly because it’s mostly what I’ve read, has been quite supportive. I really, really appreciate it, because when I lost China Swing and someone Didn’t know why, it wasn’t that simple.
“I was afraid most people were going to turn their backs on me. But I felt the support and it’s great. Obviously there’s going to be some negative comments and you’re not going to avoid that. I just have to accept it. And I really don’t care about them.”