The World Anti-Doping Agency said Monday it will not appeal in the case of Iga Swiatek, who last year accepted a one-month ban after testing positive for a banned substance.
WADA said it decided after “a thorough review” found that the “contaminated melatonin scenario, as presented by the athlete and accepted by the ITIA, is plausible.”
Five-time tennis Grand Slam champion Swiatek pulled out of the WTA’s Asian swing in September, citing “personal matters.”
Only later was it revealed that the former world number one had been absent because of a one-month ban for testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ).
She denies knowingly doping, saying it came from contaminated non-prescription medication.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the violation was not intentional, and she accepted a one-month sanction.
The Pole breezed into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open on Monday.
She said earlier this month the doping ban had sparked inner turmoil and “chaos,” calling it “the worst time in my life.”
WADA has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of Jannik Sinner and is seeking to ban the men’s number one for up to two years.
He also denies knowingly doping after twice testing positive for a banned steroid in March.
AFP
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