“Iga posted a video on her Instagram and told how everything happened”, — write: sport.ua
“Today I would like to share with you a very difficult topic that I have not been able to talk about for the past two and a half months. But finally I can, so I hope to explain as much as possible, because I would like to be honest with you and for you to understand what has happened to me lately.
On September 12, I found out about the positive test taken on August 12, that is, before the tournament in Cincinnati. And for me it was a huge blow, I was shocked and this situation scared me a lot, because at first I just didn’t know how it could happen to me and where it came from.
It turns out that the lowest concentration of trimetazidine ever was found in the sample. This is a substance that I heard about for the first time in my life, I never had contact with it, neither did the people who surrounded me. So there was a huge sense of injustice and the first few weeks were very chaotic indeed.
We immediately started reacting and following what ITIA told us. And this concentration, which is very low, suggested – in fact it was obvious that either the sample sample was contaminated or the substance or supplement or drug that I was taking was contaminated. That’s why we focused on testing all the supplements and medications I take. And the test results showed that the melatonin I’ve been taking for a long time and the batch I had with me before the tournament in Cincinnati was contaminated at the factory. And it was a huge shock for us, but on the other hand, it also answered many questions, because finding the source in such situations is the most important thing. So once we found the source, we had to prove that the drug was indeed contaminated.
Melatonin is a drug that I need because of travel, jet lag, work stress, and sometimes I just couldn’t sleep without it. Therefore, after finding the source, it still took time for the matter to end. This is exactly what is happening now. But in general, I was automatically suspended from September 12th, so I couldn’t play tournaments in Asia and I couldn’t properly defend my ranking.
The most important thing for me was to prove my innocence. But now that this case is closed, I have been disqualified for a month. I have 22 days behind me, eight more to go. That way, I will be able to start the next season with a clean slate and focus on what I have always done, which is playing tennis. And I think this experience is the most difficult in my life, but it taught me a lot.”
Svyontek received a one-month suspension and did not play in the WTA 500 in Seoul, WTA 1000 in Beijing and WTA 1000 in Wuhan during her suspension. The Polish woman also lost the prize money and points earned for her performance at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.
