Iga Swiatek’s friendship with WADA President pinpointed by sports journalist amid ongoing doping controversy

Iga Swiatek’s doping controversy has caused a storm in the tennis world. A sports journalist has spotlighted the player’s friendship with WADA President Witold Banka, criticizing his social media posts praising the former World No.1.

Swiatek was handed a one-month suspension on November 27 by the ITIA, after she tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication that is known more commonly as TMZ. The Pole had taken the doping test on August 12 and was informed about failing it a month later.
The French Open champion said it was due to contamination of the non-prescription medicine melatonin that she was taking to cope with jet lag and sleeping problems. The ITIA ruled that Swiatek had not intentionally consumed the banned substance and confirmed a month of suspension, three weeks of which she completed in October after a provisional ban on September 12.

Iga Swiatek is free to compete after December 4 and the World Anti-Doping Agency has the right to appeal to CAS about her case. In light of this, sports journalist Edmund Willison has called out WADA President Witold Banka for his posts praising the tennis star in the past, while pushing for officials to remain neutral about players:

“‘IGA – Incredible, Genius, Amazing 😉Bravo’ – Just the five tweets from the WADA president Witold Banka praising Iga Swiatek over the years. WADA now has right of appeal. Better for anti-doping officials to keep it neutral. You never know what’s around the corner.”