"No one looking into corruption?" - Iga Swiatek's doping verdict draws reaction from British WTA player who faced 19-month ban for similar offence
Tara Moore has recently questioned the ITIA's decision to impose only a one-month doping suspension on Iga Swiatek. She compared it to her own 19-month ban in 2023, which she claimed was for a similar issue.
On Thursday (Nov. 28), it was revealed that Iga Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a medication used to treat heart-related conditions, in an out-of-competition sample taken in August 2024. The ITIA determined that the result was due to contamination from melatonin, a non-prescription supplement Swiatek used for jet lag. Her fault was deemed minimal under the "No Significant Fault or Negligence" category.
Following the announcement, former doubles World No. 77 Tara Moore expressed her frustration with Swiatek’s one-month ban. She stated that in her case, she was banned in 2019 and had to take 19 months off, even changing her entire team, despite facing a situation she considered similar to Swiatek’s.
“I took 19 months off as I had to make a “change to my team” too guys. Let’s not forget, mine was also contaminated, and 2 other people also tested positive yet ITIA are appealing my case,” Moore said.
Tara Moore was provisionally suspended for doping violations in June 2022, leading to her removal from both the singles and doubles rankings. In December 2023, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that the banned substances in her samples had come from contaminated meat in South America. In her tweet, Moore further questioned:
“why is no one seriously looking into the corruption of the organizations that govern us?”
According to the ITIA statement, the five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek was provisionally suspended from September 12th to October 4th, missing three tournaments, which counts toward her sanction. This leaves eight days remaining, and she also forfeited prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament immediately following the test.
Iga Swiatek on her suspension - “This experience, the most difficult in my life so far”
Following news of her doping suspension, Iga Swiatek described it as the most challenging experience of her life. She noted:
"This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot, Going back to play and compete in the WTA Finals and the Billie Jean King Cup gave me so many positive emotions and helped me enjoy my game again. (translated from Polish)
“The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life, it took alot of strength, returning to training after this situation nearly broke my heart. So there were many tears and many sleepless nights, the worst part of it was the uncertainty."
This season, Swiatek claimed titles at the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, Madrid Open, Italian Open and the French Open.