Tennis insider explains all the reasons why Iga Swiatek would not have 'intentionally' cheated with doping

The Iga Swiatek doping row refuses to die down, with new names joining in the discussion every other day. Tennis insider Jon Wertheim is the latest to offer his two cents on the controversy.

Responding to tennis fans’ queries in his “Mailbag” column for Sports Illustrated magazine, Wertheim delved into all the reasons why, in his opinion, a player like Swiatek would not dope intentionally.

The American began his defence by taking into account Swiatek’s other negative tests at events bigger than Cincinnati (where her sample failed), including the Paris Olympics and the US Open. He went on to remind everyone of Swiatek’s total worth, pointing out just what the former World No. 1 would be risking by choosing to intentionally use performance-enhancing drugs.

"Iga Swiatek tested negative at the Olympics and the U.S. Open, two of the biggest events on her calendar," Jon Wertheim said. "She is worth tens of millions of dollars."

Wertheim further looked at Swiatek's personality, pointing out that it’s hard to believe that someone so averse to controversy would take such actions. He reiterated that someone who has a full career to look forward to would not risk everything by taking what he described was a “vanishingly small amount”.

"[Iga Swiatek] is introverted and averse to conflict at the best of times," Jon Wertheim noted. "She is 23 and still has so much runway ahead of her."

"If, between the Olympics and the U.S. Open she intentionally sought to cheat—by taking a vanishingly small amount of an angina drug in Cincinnati—it would not only be an act lacking in morals, it would be an act wildly inconsistent with rational behavior," he added.

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"It’s naive to say that any sport is 100% clean" - Tennis insider amid Iga Swiatek doping controversy

Iga Swiatek last played at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. (Source: Getty)

Despite his stern defence for Iga Swiatek, Jon Wertheim was quick to note that the sport of tennis is not 100% clean. He in fact called the idea of having such a belief “naive”.

"It’s naive to say that any sport is 100% clean," Jon Wertheim said. "This runs counter to what we know about incentives and rational behavior."

"By the same token, if we accept that rational behavior is a driving force, we also need to accept when it cuts against PED use," he added.

Swiatek had tested positive for the banned substance Trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition anti-doping test taken earlier this year.

The Pole was later found at “no significant fault” in the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s final doping report and let off with a one-month suspension. She will return to competition Down Under at the start of the 2025 season.