On Thursday, the International Integrity Agency Tennis (ITIA) informed about Iga Świątek's positive anti-doping test. In a test conducted on August 12 during the tournament in Cincinnati, trimetazidine was detected in the body of the then WTA ranking leader – fortunately for Świątek: at a very low concentration.
Trimetazidine, which is banned for athletes, entered Świątek's body thanks to a contaminated drug containing melatonin, which the tennis player took due to sleep problems during time zone changes. During the proceedings, which were confidential, Świątek proved that she had taken the banned substance completely unconsciously.
On Thursday, after the whole matter was closed, Shelf she told what happened to her. “The only positive anti-doping test in my career, with an incredibly low concentration of a banned substance that I had never heard of before, called into question everything I had worked for all my life,” the athlete wrote on Instagram.
We have analyzed the ITIA report
Even though Świątek proved her innocence, ITIA suspended the Pole for a month. It published a communiqué and a detailed report. On Thursday, we described the behind-the-scenes of the whole situation on Sport.pl in an article by Łukasz Jachimiak, and now we have additionally analyzed a 12-page document in which ITIA not only informs about the entire case, but also describes the most important moments of the last weeks of the proceedings.
From the report we learn that the infected drug that Świątek took was Melatonin LEK-AM 1mg, i.e. in the lowest available dose. The manufacturer is not mentioned in the report, but it is the pharmaceutical company LEK-AM Sp. z o. o., which produces its preparations in Zakrętym near Warsaw.
The report reads: “Late on the evening of September 26, the athlete submitted a response to her earlier request to temporarily lift her suspension. The athlete explained that she had experts analyze the various products she was using at the time of sampling. She claimed that results analyzes showed that the melatonin product (LEK-AM Melatonin 1 mg), which she consumed during sample collection, was contaminated with TMZ,” we read.
“At the request of ITIA, the athlete's lawyer arranged for the following items to be couriered to SMRTL [Laboratorium Badań i Testów Medycyny Sportowej – red.]: the remaining part of the open container of the product that the athlete used before taking the Sample and the sealed container of the product from the same batch. ITIA attempted to independently source a container from the same batch, but it was unavailable due to the product's expiration date and lack of response from the manufacturer. However, ITIA verified that the sealed container obtained by the athlete came from the same batch as the one used by her and that the sealed container had a tamper-evident seal,” it added.
“On Friday, October 4, 2024, SMRTL reported that it had detected TMZ in tablets from both open and closed product containers. SMRTL confirmed that the seal on the closed container was intact and performed various analyzes of the product to rule out potential tampering. The amount of TMZ detected in the product was consistent with the estimated concentrations of TMZ found in the athlete's urine sample,” it explained.
As we read in the report, in support of her explanations, Świątek presented, among others: evidence that the product is classified in Poland as a medicine and is available for purchase in pharmacies in Poland (in many pharmacies the product is available only by prescription, which ITIA confirmed in its investigation, although in some pharmacies it is available on the shelf, without a prescription ). The product is widely used in Poland and is produced by a company that is reputable and widely available.
In addition, there was an explanation of how the athlete had consulted with her doctor since 2019 regarding her activities as a professional tennis player and how the doctor recommended that she purchase and use a product to regulate sleep (and medical documentation supporting these explanations).
Additional evidence was provided by a psychologist
The explanation also included a statement from the athlete's psychologist, who usually bought medications for her. Świątek's psychologist is Daria Abramovichwho is not mentioned by name in the report, but has been cooperating with the tennis player for years. Additional evidence presented by the psychologist in the investigation includes – as we read in the report – “bank account statements and invoices (issued in the name of the athlete's psychologist) from purchases of the product from several legal pharmacies in Poland, located near the athlete's home (including one receipt which contained the same batch number as the packaging of the product from which the athlete took the tablets before taking the sample)”.
In addition, the report writes about “the athlete's explanation of when she took the tablets of the product. 2-3 tablets were taken at approximately 2-3 a.m. on Monday, August 12, 2024, when the athlete was unable to sleep, before she was woken up to provide a sample for doping control 4-5 hours later.” And also about reports from analyzes carried out in Paris and Strasbourg, which confirmed the presence of TMZ in the remaining tablets of the product taken by the athlete, and about explanations supported by expert evidence that negative urine samples of the athlete 10 days before the sample was taken on August 12 and 15 days later (as well as hair tests that did not detect TMZ) showed that she could not have used a therapeutic dose of TMZ between August 2 and 12.
We also learn from the report that after collecting a urine sample on August 12, Świątek was also asked to complete a form in which she was to list all the medications and supplements she had taken during the period. seven days before the test.
Interestingly, Świątek included as many as 14 different products on the list, but the aforementioned Melatonin LEK-AM was not among them. “The athlete explained that she forgot to declare the use of the product because it was not included in her list of drugs and supplements from which she transcribes information on doping control forms, and that she was also tired because she slept only a few hours between swallowing the pills and submitting the sample to research,” we read in the report.
Her translations were considered reliable. “Although ITIA considers that the omission of the product from the form is unsatisfactory, taking into account all the circumstances and two interviews with the athlete, it accepts the reasons for the omission,” the report said.