Iga Swiatek was “scared” of a hostile reaction to her doping ban and says she does not expect an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after serving a one-month suspension.
Five-time major winner Swiatek, 23, tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in August, when she was world number one.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the test result was caused by contamination and Swiatek’s short suspension ended on 4 December.
Men’s world number one Jannik Sinner did not receive a ban after failing two tests in March and WADA has appealed against that decision – but Swiatek said she does not see “any reason” for a similar outcome in her case.
On the possibility of a WADA appeal, Swiatek said: “I was suspended for a long time and I lost [world] number one because of that. I also know how the procedure worked and I gave every possible evidence.
“There is not much, honestly, to do more. 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 of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin, manufactured and sold in Poland, which Swiatek took for jet lag and sleep issues.
Swiatek’s level of fault was found to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘no significant fault or negligence’.
The Pole missed three tournaments – the Korea Open, China Open and Wuhan Open – during her suspension. She was also forced to forfeit her prize money from the Cincinnati Open, the tournament that directly followed the test.
Speaking at a news conference before the season-opening United Cup in Australia, the four-time French Open winner addressed the media and public’s reaction to her suspension for the first time.
Swiatek said: “I think their response has been more positive than I thought.
“I think most people are understanding and the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on.
“Overall the reaction, in Poland basically because this is mostly what I read, has been pretty supportive.
I really, really appreciate that, because even when I missed the China swing and nobody knew why, it wasn’t so easy.
“I was scared that most people were going to turn their back on me. But I felt the support and it’s great. Obviously there are going to be some negative comments and you’re not going to avoid that. I just have to accept that and I don’t really care about those, honestly.”
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