Will Iga Swiatek be allowed to play in Australian Open 2025 amid shocking doping suspension? All you need to know

When the news of Iga Swiatek's one-month suspension initially surfaced earlier on November 29, many fans were worried that she might be forced to miss the Australian Open. After all, the event is set to start in the third week of the new season, which falls within one month of the new season.

Luckily for her, she won't be missing the event, because she has served the bulk of her suspension already as the ITIA counts the procedural time spent clearing up the matter as part of the suspension.

As noted above, this leaves Iga Swiatek with only eight more days of suspension to serve, which she will do within the first two weeks of the season, allowing her to compete at the Australian Open in the third week of the season.

However, this means that she will miss the United Cup, a competition she enjoyed playing due to the national twist it has. She had played really well last year, making it to the final.

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How did Iga Swiatek test positive for a banned substance?

Iga Swiatek's doping situation is very similar to that of Jannik Sinner, as she inadvertently took a medicine that was contaminated with a banned substance. According to reports released by the ITIA, Swiatek was given pills to counter the effects of jet lag and frequent travel by a doctor back home in Poland; however, the specific batch of the pills was contaminated with a banned substance.

When she was subjected to an out-of-competition doping test, the sample yielded a positive result for trimetazidine. Per the rules, the Polish player was handed a one-month suspension on top of being stripped of the prize money won at the Cincinnati Open but she was also cleared of any intent to dope, as she simply took melatonin pills, which happened to be contaminated with the banned substance.

Similar to the Sinner case, everything that has been going on was withheld from the public as the situation was ongoing. Now that the final verdict has come down, Swiatek has been able to speak on the matter.

Just like Sinner, she will escape any significant punishment which is the most important thing. But her slump in the final weeks of he season could very well be explained by this situation which nobody knew about.

"The worst experience of my life. In the last 2.5 months I was subject to strict ITIA proceedings, which confirmed my innocence. Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate I can go back to what I love most. I know I will be stronger than ever," wrote Iga Swiatek on Instagram.

Time will tell whether it will keep impacting her but it will prevent her form playing some much-needed preparation events at the start of the season. Still, getting a chance to play at the Australian Open is what matters most.