Swiatek opens up over WADA appeal on doping case

Poland's Swiatek was cleared of wrongdoing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), who accepted her positive test was caused by contamination of her medication melatonin, which was manufactured and sold in Poland.

Men's No.1 Jannik Sinner was also cleared by the ITIA after testing positive to an anabolic steroid in two separate drug tests in March, before WADA appealed the decision in September.

Sinner claimed the banned performance-enhancer entered his system through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat his cut finger.

WADA is seeking a ban of one to two years for Sinner, with a final ruling on the case by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) expected in 2025.

Swiatek has served a one-month ban for her doping infringement. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Swiatek made her first public comments on the saga when she fronted media for the first time since her ban ahead of the United Cup's Sydney matches.

She said she was confident the ITIA had been thorough in their investigation and there would be no need for an appeal from WADA.

"I don't think there is any reason because I didn't play three tournaments, I was suspended for a long time and I lost number one because of that," Swiatek said on Friday.

"I also know how the procedure works and I gave every possible evidence, and there is not much, honestly, to do more.

"Like, there's no point to do an appeal in our opinion.

"I can say from the process that I went through and how they treated me from the beginning, that it seemed fair for me.

"I managed to give the source really quickly. That's why the case closed pretty quickly.

"It was a fair process, and I trust ITIA, any case they do, their conduct treats every player the same."

Nick Kyrgios is among those critical of how Swiatek's case has been handled. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

Swiatek, winner of the past three French Opens, admitted she was surprised by the support she received following her doping ban.

The 23-year-old was provisionally suspended in September but cited personal reasons when she pulled out of the China Open.

Having also missed the Korea Open and Wuhan Open, her suspension was made public after she served her month-long ban.

Former Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep and Nick Kygrios were among those who criticised the way Swiatek's doping case was handled.

Halep had initially received a four-year ban for doping in 2022 after testing positive for the banned drug Roxadustat and missed out on one and a half years of playing after CAS reduced the suspension to nine months.

The excuse that we can all use is that we didn't know. Simply didn't know. Professionals at the highest level of sport can now just say "we didn't know" �— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) November 29, 2024

"Their (the public) response has been more positive than I thought," Swiatek said.

"After the information about my case was released, I was scared that, you know, 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.

"You're not going to avoid that, but that's something that is always going to follow us no matter what happens in our lives.

"We're public persons. I just have to accept that."

Poland will begin their United Cup campaign on December 30 against Norway, with Swiatek taking on Malene Helgo at Ken Rosewall Arena before the men's singles and mixed doubles matches.