Tennis

Iga Swiatek satisfied after Wada decide not to appeal her case at Cas

Five-times Grand Slam champion produced a ruthless display during her 6-0 6-1 win over Germany’s Eva Lys at Australian Open

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates victory against Germany's Eva Lys after their women's singles match on day nine of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP via Getty Images
Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates victory against Germany's Eva Lys after their women's singles match on day nine of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP via Getty Images
Mon Jan 20 2025 - 13:28

Iga Swiatek felt satisfaction and hoped for closure after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said on Monday that it would not appeal her case at sport’s highest court.

Wada’s announcement came shortly after the five-times Grand Slam champion produced a ruthless display during her 6-0 6-1 win over German lucky loser Eva Lys to move into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the second time in her career.

“For sure I’m just satisfied that I can get closure and I can just move on and finish this whole process, because I just want to play tennis and focus on the tournament,” Swiatek told reporters later. “Yeah, I’m just satisfied.”

The world number two had tested positive for the banned hormone and metabolic modulator trimetazidine in August and was provisionally banned the following month.

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She then successfully appealed against her provisional ban and returned to action in October after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the explanation her positive test was caused by contamination of her medication melatonin. The Pole accepted a one-month ban that ended on December 4th after accounting for time already served.

Wada said on Monday there would be no scientific grounds to challenge Swiatek’s explanation at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

“Wada has conducted a full review of the case file related to the ITIA decision, which it received on 29 November,” WADA said in a statement.

“Wada’s scientific experts have confirmed that the specific contaminated melatonin scenario, as presented by the athlete and accepted by the ITIA, is plausible and that there would be no scientific grounds to challenge it at Cas.”

Swiatek said anyone who knew the details of her case would be understanding.

“The locker room has also been pretty nice,” she added. “The girls are understanding ... Now for sure, I just want to put this behind me, because I have already been on tour for quite a few weeks, and it’s all been good. I don’t expect any changes. I’m happy people understand.”

However, men's world number one Jannik Sinner is still under the scanner after testing positive for the anabolic androgenic agent clostebol in March last year.

The Italian was also cleared of wrongdoing but Wada lodged an appeal to Cas, with a hearing starting on April 16th.

Earlier on Monday, he shrugged off illness to battle past Holger Rune 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where he is the defending champion.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025