Amid accusation of double standards from Simona Halep, ITIA Chief breaks down why Iga Swiatek & Jannik Sinner's doping cases got different punishments
Karen Moorhouse, CEO of the International Tennis Integrity Agency, this week addressed accusations from several quarters, including Simona Halep, that Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner received preferential treatment. Her remarks came amid the doping controversy involving the three players. While Sinner and Swiatek were cleared of wrongdoing, Halep faced penalties.
The ITIA CEO opined that each case is unique and depends on specific details, making it unfair to compare cases based on headlines alone. She said (via Tennis 365),
“It’s the same rules and the same processes for every player. All cases are different and each case turns on individual facts. Cases can also be quite complex, so it isn’t right to look at two headlines and draw comparisons between two cases as the detail is always the key part."
Moorhouse further explained that Swiatek had consumed a regulated medication, making it reasonable for her to trust the label. Consequently, the former World No. 1 was deemed to have "minimal fault."
“In relation to Swiatek, the contaminated product was a medication. So it was not unreasonable for a player to assume that a regulated medication would contain what it says on the ingredients. Therefore, the level of fault she could accept was at the lowest level as there was very little more she could have done reasonably to mitigate the risk of that product being contaminated."
She added that Halep's fault was deemed higher due to the nature of the product.
“Halep’s contamination was not a medication. It was a collagen supplement and her level of fault was found to be higher."
Halep, who tested positive for the banned substance Roxadustat in 2022, initially received a four-year ban from the International Tennis Integrity Agency. However, earlier this year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) shortened her suspension to nine months following an appeal. The former World No. 1 made her return to the tour earlier this year at the Miami Open.
In August 2024, Swiatek tested positive for the banned substance, trimetazidine. The 23-year-old was provisionally suspended between September 12 to October 14. Following an extensive investigation, the ITIA concluded that Swiatek was not at significant fault or negligent, imposing a minor one-month suspension, which concluded earlier this month.
Swiatek's case followed three months after men's world No. 1 Sinner was cleared of fault for two positive Clostebol tests during his BNP Paribas Open campaign in March. The Italian explained the substance entered his system during treatment from his physiotherapist, and authorities deemed it negligible, clearing him of any wrongdoing.
The decision, however, wasn't received well by Halep, who accused the authorities of double standards.
Moorhouse also explained why the provisional suspension of Sinner and Swiatek was kept confidential:
"With Swiatek and Sinner, they appealed those provisional suspensions within ten days, they were successful and under our rules, we don’t announce anything at that point. While those rules are in place in tennis, our job is to follow those rules, which we did in both cases.”
Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep share an awkward handshake at exhibition event
Nevertheless, Swiatek and Halep have seemingly tried to put the doping controversies behind them. The two recently competed at the World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi, where they shared an awkward handshake after their doubles match.
Swiatek, partnering with Paula Badosa, suffered a 7-5 loss to the duo of Jasmine Paolini and Halep during the exhibition event.
Following the match, the five-time Major champion shook hands with Paolini and exchanged a few words. However, she had no interaction with Halep, briefly shaking hands before proceeding directly to the chair umpire.
Akin to Halep, Nick Kyrgios also criticized the ITIA's decision, alleging that the organization showed preferential treatment.