WADA will not appeal Sfjontek's one-month suspension

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced today that it will not appeal the one-month suspension of the world's second-ranked tennis player, Poland's Iga Sfjontek, who was punished for a positive test for a banned substance conducted in mid-August.

WADA's scientific experts believe that the way the Polish tennis player stated that the contamination occurred is "plausible" and that "there would be no scientific reason to challenge it before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)."

Sfjontek tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication, in a sample taken out of competition in August, when she was ranked number one in the world.

The affair only came to light three months later, when the Polish tennis player accepted a one-month suspension.

She cited personal reasons for her absence from three tournaments in Asia.

Sfjontek stated that the test result was coincidental and was caused by contamination of an over-the-counter substance, melatonin, which is used to combat sleep problems.

"WADA has conducted a complete review of the file relating to the decision of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which it received on 29 November. WADA's scientific experts have confirmed that the specific scenario of contaminated melatonin, as presented by the player (Sfjontek), which was accepted by ITIA, is credible and that there are no scientific reasons to challenge it before CAS," WADA said in a statement.

Sfjontek advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, after defeating the 128th ranked player in the world, German Eva Lis, in the round of XNUMX today in Melbourne.

In a similar case, world number one, Italian Janik Siner tested positive and was briefly suspended twice in March for traces of the steroid clostebol. The ITIA cleared him of any wrongdoing at the time, but WADA lodged an appeal and the CAS will examine the case on 16 and 17 April.