Kyrgios, Halep dismayed by Swiatek doping case verdict

Former Wimbledon and French Open champion Simona Halep has expressed dismay astatine the way Iga Swiatek’s doping lawsuit was handled compared to her own. And the 33-year-old Romanian has been backed by Nick Kyrgios.

Halep, who initially received a four-year prohibition for doping, said there had been terrible differences successful however their cases were treated by tennis authorities.

“I sit and try to understand but it is truly intolerable for maine to understand something similar this,” Halep posted Friday connected her Instagram account.

“I sit and wonder, ‘Why such a large quality successful treatment and judgment?’

“I can’t find, and I don’t think there tin be, a logical answer. It tin lone beryllium atrocious will connected the portion of ITIA, the organisation that did perfectly everything to destruct maine contempt the evidence.”

Nick Kyrgios, 29, took to X pursuing the ruling from the ITIA ruling responding to a station from chap tennis nonrecreational Benjamin Lock, who tweeted: “1 period ban. It’s not adjacent April fools day. Don’t play with us similar that”.

“Our sport is cooked,” Kyrgios wrote, earlier a 2nd station complaining astir the doping process.

“The excuse that we tin each use is that we didn’t know. Simply didn’t know. Professionals astatine the highest level of sport tin present conscionable accidental “we didn’t know”,” Kyrgios posted.

“Two fig 1s successful the world failing cause tests successful the aforesaid year is wild.”

The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced connected Thursday five-time large champion Swiatek had accepted a one-month suspension aft testing affirmative for the banned substance trimetazidine, a bosom medicine known arsenic TMZ.

The 23-year-old Polish subordinate failed an out-of-competition cause δοκιμή successful August when she tested affirmative for bosom medicine trimetazidine (TMZ), the aforesaid cause that’s astatine the centre of the lawsuit involving 23 Chinese swimmers successful 2021.

However, the ITIA accepted she had consumed a banned substance done “the contamination of a regulated non-prescription medicine (melatonin), manufactured and sold successful Poland that the subordinate had been taking for pitchy lag and sleep issues”, and Swiatek will beryllium escaped to vie astatine the Australian Open successful January.

Halep, who won the French Open successful 2018 and Wimbledon successful 2019, received a four-year suspension aft testing affirmative for the banned cause Roxadustat astatine the '22 US Open.

Her suspension was reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to 9 months aft CAS accepted her mentation of a contaminated supplement. But she missed 1 and a fractional years of playing.

“I person ever believed successful good, I person believed successful the fairness of this sport, I person believed successful kindness,” Halep wrote connected Instagram.

“The injustice that was done to maine was painful, is achy and possibly will ever beryllium painful. How is it imaginable that successful identical cases that happened astatine astir the aforesaid clip (of the season), ITIA has wholly antithetic approaches, to my detriment?”

Swiatek’s lawsuit prompted Kyrgios, the '22 Wimbledon runner-up, to station “OUR SPORT IS COOKED” connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter.

The Australian tennis ace besides made his feelings wide successful different post.

Canadian tennis subordinate Denis Shapovalov, ranked No.56, posted a sarcastic-sounding: ” 1 period prohibition eh ” connected his page.

Swiatek’s lawsuit follows a akin 1 involving Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked men’s player.

Sinner tested affirmative twice for an anabolic steroid successful March but was not banned successful an ITIA determination due to the fact that the bureau determined helium was not to blame.

It led to claims by some observers of a two-tier system, with critics arguing it afforded Sinner extortion due to the fact that of his status arsenic a starring player.

Earlier this month, ATP Tour president Andrea Gaudenzi acknowledged there “could person been amended communication” successful explaining the rules progressive successful Sinner’s doping case, but refuted allegations of treble standards.

The determination to wide Sinner of wrongdoing, however, was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) successful September.

WADA is seeking a prohibition of 1 to two years and the Switzerland-based CAS is expected to marque a last ruling connected the lawsuit successful 2025.

*With AAP