Iga Swiatek is seen as a top contender for her first Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open. She faced Coco Gauff in the United Cup final on Sunday, where she lost 6-4, 6-4. During the match, Swiatek took a medical time-out towards the end.

Before the Grand Slam kicks off, she downplayed any worries about her fitness, saying she was simply "just tired" after the loss to Gauff. “I definitely wasn’t at my freshest today, but I’ll be fine,” she mentioned.

“Nothing really happened; I was just tired.”

Swiatek recently dealt with a one-month doping suspension after testing positive for trimetazidine in an out-of-competition sample last August. However, the ITIA accepted her explanation that the positive result was due to contamination from a regulated non-prescription medicine, melatonin, that was produced and sold in Poland.

At the start of the tournament, things were pretty intense, but honestly, it’s all good, he mentioned.

“I’m definitely feeling happy because I faced some tough competitors this week, including some players who use topspin, and I managed to play really well against both styles.

“Today, I couldn’t give it my all. Coco played incredibly well and she’s definitely getting better. But overall, I’m pleased with how the week went and I feel like the things I’ve been working on have really improved. That said, the week leading up to the Australian Open is a whole different ball game, so I’m going to take it one step at a time and keep up the work I’ve been doing,” she added.

Swiatek reportedly took melatonin to help with jet lag and sleep problems, and the ITIA classified it as unintentional. Her one-month suspension officially wrapped up on December 4, 2024.

Regarding Swiatek’s doping situation, ITIA chief Karen Moorhouse stated, “For Swiatek, the contaminated product was a medication. It’s not unreasonable for a player to think that a regulated medication would actually contain what’s listed in the ingredients. So, her level of fault was considered to be at the lowest level since there wasn’t much more she could have done to avoid the risk of contamination. In contrast, Halep’s case involved a collagen supplement, which raised her level of fault.”

Read Also: Everything You Need to Know About WWE RAW's Netflix Debut: Streaming Details and Match Card

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON!