Simona Halep: Former Wimbledon champion questions handling of her doping case after Iga Swiatek’s one-month ban

Former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep has questioned the “big difference in treatment and judgment” in her doping case handling after world No 2 Iga Swiatek was given a one-month ban.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Thursday that Swiatek had accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for a prohibited substance.

Halep was provisionally suspended in October 2022 and later banned for four years, a period which was reduced to nine months in March after an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and she denied knowingly taking the banned substance Roxadustat, arguing the positive test was the result of contamination.

“I’m sitting and trying to understand, but it’s really impossible for me to understand something like this,” Halep wrote in an Instagram post.

“I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgment? I can’t find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer.

“It can only be bad will from the ITIA, the organisation that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence.

“I always believed in good, I believed in the fairness of this sport, I believed in goodness. It was painful, is painful and maybe the injustice that was done to me will always be painful.”

Swiatek was ranked world No 1 when she provided a sample containing the angina medication trimetazidine in an out-of-competition test on August 12, and the ITIA accepted the player’s explanation that contaminated medication was the cause of the positive test.

Swiatek was provisionally suspended on September 12 but had it lifted on October 4, leaving her with just over a week’s ban to serve.

The ITIA, however, argued there are vital distinctions between Halep and Swiatek’s cases.

“We deal with each case based on the facts and evidence, not a player’s name, ranking, or nationality,” the ITIA said.

“When a prohibited substance is found in a player’s system, we investigate it thoroughly.

“No two cases are the same, they often involve different circumstances, and direct comparisons are not always helpful.

“There are some very important differences in these two cases.

“The product contaminated in Ms Swiatek’s case was a regulated medication, not a supplement.

“There was agreement among independent scientific experts surrounding the facts, and the player admitted the anti-doping rule violation.

“We urge players to exercise extreme caution when taking supplements and we are always happy to answer any questions they have.”

Swiatek’s news comes only three months after it was revealed men’s world No 1 Jannik Sinner had failed two doping tests in March but was deemed not to be at fault and was not suspended – although that has been appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Sinner’s case caused much disquiet within tennis, with players and coaches citing their belief that he was treated differently because of his status, although this was strongly refuted by the relevant authorities.

The Women’s Tennis Association also backed Swiatek, saying she had its full support during this difficult time.