Iga Swiatek in ‘Real Crisis’ as Top Tennis Journalist Convinced Doping Scandal Badly Impacted Her

According to tennis journalist Jon Wertheim, the doping scandal is the main reason behind Iga Swiatek‘s recent slump in form. Swiatek was in red-hot form last year, lifting five titles, including three consecutive ones on the clay swing.

But toward the end of the season, she failed to reach a final and her winless run continues this season as well. The 23-year-old last lifted a trophy at the 2024 Roland Garros by breezing past Jasmine Paolini and later clinched the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Then in August ahead of the Cincinnati Open, she tested positive for trimetazidine, the banned substance that contaminated a melatonin medication she was consuming at that time. In Cincinnati, she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, then to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula in the US Open quarterfinals. At the WTA Finals, she failed to move into the semifinals.

This season, the Pole ace made it to every quarterfinal of the first seven singles events. But in the ongoing Italian Open, Danielle Collins ended her run in the third round.