Iga Swiatek acknowledges that strict doping protocols might be worrying for gamers however feels she has “been through the worst” after overcoming a constructive take a look at for contaminated melatonin.
The incident has sparked paranoia amongst tennis gamers, following Swiatek’s and Jannik Sinner’s failed drug assessments, regardless of each athletes not deliberately doping.
Swiatek served a one-month suspension on the finish of final yr after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) decided that the over-the-counter melatonin she used as a sleep assist was contaminated with the banned substance trimetazidine.
Sinner is at present serving a three-month ban after testing constructive twice for the banned substance clostebol, which entered his system by his physiotherapist, who was treating a reduce on his hand with an over-the-counter spray containing the substance.
“Honestly, after a couple of years, you think about this all the time,” Swiatek mentioned Wednesday when requested concerning the additional precautions gamers should take to stick to anti-doping guidelines. “It gives a little anxiety, and I’m not only talking about me because I kind of got used to the system, and I’ve been through the worst. I was able to come back from that, and I was able to solve it, so I feel like nothing can stop me.”
While Swiatek has managed to return out the opposite aspect, she is conscious of the panic that has resulted from her and Sinner’s circumstances.
“I know from other players that it’s not easy, and the whole system is just tough because I didn’t have much control over what happened to me, and I can imagine some players are always scared that it can happen to them,” added the world No. 2.
The whereabouts system utilized by anti-doping authorities requires athletes to specify one hour of each day the place they are going to be at a particular location and obtainable for testing.
“With always giving your location and everything, sometimes, system-wise, it’s just hard to catch up,” Swiatek defined. “Because, like each day once we’re touring, we have to actually say the place we’re. If we neglect, we’d get a ‘no show,’ after which three ‘no shows’ equals a ban.
“So, yeah, there’s a lot of pressure with that, and it’s not easy to manage, but it is what it is.”
Tunisian Ons Jabeur echoed Swiatek’s sentiments and mentioned she is “traumatized” by the sound of her doorbell, which continuously rings at 5 a.m. for drug testing.
“I know we need to keep a clean sport, and that’s very important. But yeah, definitely, I’m just very worried,” mentioned the three-time main finalist.
Source: www.dailysabah.com