Iga Swiatek said she was embarrassed by her inability to be honest about her absence from the tour.
The world number two failed a doping test in August and was banned for a month after the medication she was taking to combat jet lag was found to be tainted.
This news was not announced until November, when it emerged that she had missed three tournaments in the fall while undergoing a temporary suspension, which she attributed at the time to personal reasons, fatigue and a change of coach.
And shortly after it was announced in August that world number one Jannik Sinner had failed two tests in March that were not announced at the time, it was another huge blow to the sport’s reputation.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Open, Swiatek said: “I think the first three weeks were very chaotic. There was no way to get any answers to the questions. We were just focused on finding the source.”
“But I have to say, it definitely wasn’t easy. This was probably the worst time of my life. And the fact that I had no control over this whole situation and had no chance of avoiding it, made me feel proud.” And it’s worse because I’m a bit of a control freak.
“Just feeling like everything you’ve built could be taken away so quickly because of something you can’t control, it was so crazy to me and really abstract.
“For the first two or three weeks, I was just focusing on myself because I wasn’t in a good place. I was having trouble just being on the court. I thought tennis had affected me a little bit. I didn’t really read things because the priority was me and my well-being.”
“After that, it became very embarrassing. We chose for the first tournament to say personal reasons because we honestly believed that the suspension would be lifted soon.
“From the beginning it was clear that something was contaminated because the level of this substance in my urine was so low that it was contaminated.
“Because we didn’t know what was going to happen because we didn’t have any control over ITIA [International Tennis Integrity Agency] Decision, we also couldn’t come up with any logical plan. We started with personal issues because I also needed time to figure everything out.”
Swiatek returned to play in the WTA Finals and Billie Jean King Cup Finals after her suspension was lifted but before the news broke.
She admitted that she was afraid of the backlash, but thanked the competitors for their support.
“Besides the fact that I couldn’t play, that was the worst thing for me, like what people say,” she said. “Because I have always worked hard to be a good role model, to demonstrate my integrity, and to demonstrate good behavior.
“Again, not being able to control this issue scared me a little. But in the locker room, the girls are great. I have already seen it at this show in Abu Dhabi [in December] They are really supportive.
“Most of them even called me. They were like, ‘Hey, how can we avoid this?’ Is there any way we can be more careful?” They worry that this could happen to them, too.
“There are a lot of senior players – I won’t say names – who really support me. I really appreciate that, because it made me feel better when I came back and didn’t know what things were going to be like.”
Swiatek will face second seed Czech Katerina Siniakova in the first round in Melbourne.
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