Iga Swiatek opens up about her ‘struggles’ of balancing tennis with social life amid recent doping row
Iga Swiatek will be looking forward to bettering her exploits of the 2024 season, as the new year commences.
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Iga Swiatek (image via Instagram)
Iga Swiatek recently appeared on Season 2 of the ‘Tennis Insider Club’ podcast. In the podcast, she discussed her journey, her mindset, and her approach to competition and opened up about how challenging the past few months have been for her. The five-time Grand Slam champion also commented that she was trying to enjoy life a bit more and emphasized the need for balance in one’s life.
Iga Swiatek is the only player representing Poland to win a Grand Slam. She has won 22 singles titles, including the 2023 WTA Finals and ten WTA 1000 titles. In 2024, she became the first Polish tennis player to win an Olympic medal, earning bronze in singles at the Paris Olympics.
I would say before I was only tennis-tennis-tennis… Even like I’m deleting Instagram, Twitter, the notifications on my email. So in the beginning, it was a good way for me to be more focused. But now you just can’t do that anymore because if you’re going to do that for what like 40 weeks per year? That’s not a life anymore.
Iga Swiatek via ‘Tennis Insider Club’ podcast
Iga Swiatek had a 2024 season filled with significant achievements and notable challenges. She began the year triumphantly, winning titles at the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, Madrid Open, Italian Open, and clinching her fourth French Open crown, showcasing her dominance on both clay and hard courts.
Season 2 is almost here! Our first episode is with @iga_swiatek, where we got the chance to discover her incredible journey, her mindset and approach to competition, and she also shared with us how tough the last months have been for her. Coming out on Jan 6th. pic.twitter.com/Dw4xkV1Udl
— Tennis Insider Club (@tennisinsidercl) December 28, 2024
Despite these victories, Swiatek faced some hurdles that tested her mettle. She had a surprising early exit at the Australian Open and a challenging period post-Olympics. Her WTA Finals journey was cut short after Barbora Krejcikova‘s victory over Coco Gauff, preventing Swiatek from advancing to the semifinals. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old has finished the season with a World Ranking of 2.
Iga Swiatek – her doping case and 2025 season
Perhaps the most challenging part of the year for Iga Swiatek would be her doping case. In August 2024, Swiatek, tested positive for trimetazidine, a substance prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) determined that the positive test resulted from contamination in a melatonin supplement she was using to address sleep issues. Given the unintentional nature of the violation and Swiatek’s prompt cooperation, the ITIA imposed a one-month suspension, which she accepted.
The suspension spanned from September 12 to October 4, 2024, during which Swiatek missed three tournaments and forfeited her prize money from the Cincinnati Open. The reactions to her doping case have been varied. Some have supported her during this challenging period of her career, while others, such as Nick Kyrgios and Simona Halep, have been openly critical of the lenient handling of the situation.
Iga Swiatek recently participated in the 2024 World Tennis League (WTL) in Abu Dhabi as a member of the Eagles team. Her team included players like Paula Badosa, Alexander Shevchenko, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Despite her efforts, including a notable doubles victory with Badosa against Caroline Garcia and Elena Rybakina, the Eagles faced challenges throughout the tournament. They secured their only win in that doubles match, with Swiatek also achieving a singles victory over Jasmine Paolini. However, the Eagles were unable to advance to the finals.
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Anubhav Bajpeyee
(172 Articles Published)