Stunned by Iga Swiatek’s ‘Strange’ Doping Ban, Polish Insider Offers True Insights Into the Worst Possible Scenario

Iga Swiatek believes this doping controversy has put everything that she has worked so hard in her entire life “into question.” She tested positive for a banned substance (TMZ) in August this year. After that, she incurred a provisional suspension on September 12, which Swiatek successfully appealed on September 12. However, on October 4, the provisional suspension was lifted and her ineligibility will end today. Her level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for “no significant fault or negligence.” However, things could’ve ended much worse than this. Recently, a renowned tennis journalist was spotted highlighting all the worst-case scenario in this case.

According to Polish insider, Tomasz Wolfke, the punishment for Iga Swiatek was just “symbolic.” He said, “This penalty actually took away only two starts from her. Only or as much as, because she couldn’t defend her title, she lost some points, she lost a lot of money, she lost the leadership in the world ranking. But really, from the point of view of an average fan, this penalty is symbolic, let’s not kid ourselves. It may seem that it is tongue-in-cheek.”

Swiatek was fined the prize money of $158,944 which she earned for her SF run at the Cincinnati Masters in August! She even lost the top spot to Aryna Sabalenka due to her long absence on the Tour. Speaking on the punishment, Wolfke added, “However, it seems that she was not found innocent, but guilty, but the act had such a low harmfulness that she was given the lowest possible sentence because I remind you that you can get up to four years. This sentence is ‘strange.’ On the one hand, there had to be some, since she was found guilty, but on the other hand, she really could have suffered much more.” The tennis world has literally been divided into two halves on this controversial topic.

Canadian tennis star, Denis Shapovalov looked a bit surprised with just a one-month suspension for the world number 2. Then, Simona Halep also penned down a long note highlighting the difference in treatment. British tennis player, Tara Moore questioned, “HOW WAS SHE ALLOWED TO PLAY WHIL

ST BEING SUSPENDED?” Even former tennis players, like Yevgeny Kafelnikov, called for players who failed drug tests to be banned for a lifetime

Amid all these criticisms, we saw players like Naomi Osaka and Magdalena Frech showcasing their support towards Iga Swiatek. Even, Lindsey Vonn, the American ski racer wrote, “We know your character, and your fans know it too. We have your back!” Who were the other ones who stood beside Swiatek in her tough time?