Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek drug scandals could lead to a big change in global sport

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Calls are growing for a change to the regulations around drug testing in tennis, with Iga Swiatek the latest player to be caught up in a scandal around a failed test.

Swiatek was sitting as world No 1 provided a sample containing the angina medication trimetazidine in an out-of-competition test on August 12.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted the player's explanation that contaminated medication was the cause of the positive test, with a statement reading: "The ITIA accepted that the positive test was caused by the contamination of a regulated non-prescription medication (melatonin), manufactured and sold in Poland that the player had been taking for jet lag and sleep issues and that the violation was therefore not intentional."

Swiatek was provisionally suspended from September 22 until October 4 but, as with Sinner's even briefer bans, that was not made public, with the three tournaments the 23-year-old missed attributed to personal matters and a change of coach.

The ITIA said: "As the player appealed the provisional suspension within 10 days of the notice and this appeal was successful, in line with the TADP (Tennis Anti-Doping Programme) rules, it was therefore not publicly disclosed."

The tiny amounts of the banned substance in Sinner’s body that resulted in the failed drug test suggest deliberate doping offences were not committed, with Ireland’s Davis Cup captain Conor Niland telling Tennis365 there may now need to be a change in the regulations to avoid players having their careers seriously affected by a failed test for a tiny amount of a banned substance that could not impact their performance court.

“I think we should look at a threshold for a banned substance,” Niland told Tennis365. “If it’s less than a a billionth of a gram, for me that’s nothing. It gets to the point where you could be walking down the street and someone brushes off you and you could be contaminated.

“If this is the amount we are talking about here, this is not something that should tarnish someone’s legacy and the achievements of their career.”

Sinner twice tested positive for an anabolic steroid in March but on August 20 an independent tribunal determined he was not to blame and imposed no punishment.

The tribunal accepted Sinner's explanation that the banned substance entered his body as a result of a massage from his physio, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on their finger.

But the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking to impose a ban of up to two years on the 23-year-old Italian.

"I'm very disappointed and also surprised by the appeal, to be honest,” was Sinner’s reaction to news of the WADA appeal. “I was not expecting it. Maybe they just want to make sure everything is in the right position."

A statement from WADA said: "It is WADA's view that the finding of 'no fault or negligence' was not correct under the applicable rules.

"WADA is seeking a period of ineligibility of between one and two years. WADA is not seeking a disqualification of any results, save that which has already been imposed by the tribunal of first instance."

WADA’s stance may now be changing after Oliver Niggli, director of WADA, spoke about the Sinner and Swiatek cases during an interview with L'Equipe, as he hinted the players may be victims of improved technology after minuscule amounts of the banned substances were found in their systems.

"Today there is a problem of contamination," said Niggli. "There are no more (doping cheats) than before, but laboratories are more efficient in detecting infinitesimal quantities of doping substances. We will have to open a working table to understand how to manage this situation.

"The quantities found are so small that it is possible to become contaminated by doing even trivial things.

"I understand the public, who thinks we are naive and that we believe everything. But the reality is different. There is a problem.

"If we wanted to simplify our lives, we could impose new thresholds and not find all these cases. But the real question is: Are we ready to accept microdosing? Where do we stop?

"With thresholds, we wouldn't have seen all these cases. What we need to understand is whether we are ready to accept microdosing and where it is right to stop. A working table will be created precisely for this type of reflection."

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Niland spoke Tennis365 about the ongoing Sinner controversy, with the Irishman suggesting the scar of the drug scandal will hang over the world No 1 and may tarnish his legacy in the eyes of some of his doubters.

Niland, who played in the main draw at Wimbledon and faced Novak Djokovic at the 2011 US Open, believes Sinner has been caught up in a drug scandal that is unfortunate rather than suspicious.

Yet he accepts some will question a story that has yet to reach a conclusion, with Sinner continuing his career while he awaits his fate.

“I was watching Sinner get his award for being world No 1 and there is a slight question mark over the WADA appeal and the drug controversy from this year,” said Niland, who is waiting to discover if his brilliant book, The Racket, will claim the 2024 William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Award when the winner of the prestigious prize is revealed next week.

“I think he has gotten unlucky. I don’t think he was doping, but it is there must be a lot going on for him right now with the case going on.

“I saw his Mum tearing up in the crowd when he was given the year-end No 1 prize and I wondered if… I’m sure there is a lot going on in the background and the wider team around Sinner. I’d say this has hurt them a lot, all this noise from the last few months.

“Sinner’s story, for people who don’t follow tennis and don’t know the full story, is something people will latch on to. So we need to get this sorted and cleared both for Sinner and for tennis in general.

“It will be interesting to see if it stays with him or if this is something he can move on to. Anyone caught up in something like this could see their legacy affected.”

READ NEXT: WATCH: Jannik Sinner's mother wipes away tears as world No 1 makes 'cute' confession

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