The Polish tennis star said her doping test came back positive due to a contaminated batch of melatonin
Robert Prange/Getty
Iga Światek of Poland talks to the media after the Billie Jean King Cup Finals on Nov. 18, 2024
Polish tennis star Iga Świātek has addressed her one-month suspension following a failed doping test.
After the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in a statement on Thursday, Nov. 28 that Świątek, 23, accepted her one-month ban under the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme — following a positive test result for the prohibited substance trimetazidine (TMZ) — the world No. 2 ranked tennis player explained the “tough” situation in an Instagram Reel.
“I want to be transparent with you and I want you to understand,” Świątek said in the video, noting that she’s “finally allowed” to speak up regarding her failed doping test, collected on Aug. 12.
“So I instantly want to share with you something that became the worst experience of my life,” the athlete said in the video’s caption, explaining that she had been subjected to “strict ITIA proceeding” over the last two-and-a-half months since being informed of her positive test result on Sept. 12.
Świątek said the proceedings “confirmed my innocence” and claimed she had “never heard about” the substance she tested positive for prior to the failed result.
Robert Prange/Getty
Iga Światek of Poland in action against during the Billie Jean King Cup Final
“The only positive doping test in my career, showing unbelievably low level of a banned substance I’ve never heard about before, put everything I’ve worked so hard for my entire life into question,” Świątek wrote.
She said she was “shocked” after the positive result returned. “And this whole situation made me very anxious,” she continued, adding, “At first I couldn’t understand how that was even possible.”
“Both me and my Team had to deal with tremendous stress and anxiety,” the Polish tennis star shared. “Now everything has been carefully explained, and with a clean slate I can go back to what I love most.”
Świątek thanked her fans for sticking by her side amid the suspension. “Without my supporters I am not sure I would have been able to find the strength to carry on and keep fighting. Now I have fought the toughest battle in my life, and I hope you will stay with me and keep supporting me.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Ultimately, Świątek claimed that her test came back positive due to a contaminated batch of melatonin she had been taking for sleep issues.
“We instantly reacted and cooperated with the ITIA,” Świątek explained. “The detected concentration which was extremely low, suggested — or made it obvious — that either the sample was contaminated, or a supplement or medication that I was taking was contaminated, which is why we focused on running tests.”
Related: Iga Świątek Cries After Getting Handwritten Note from Taylor Swift Following French Open Win
After confirming that the melatonin had been contaminated during manufacturing, Świątek said, “It was a shock to hear, but it also explained a lot.”
The ITIA agreed with that finding after conducting “investigations and analysis from two WADA-accredited laboratories,
“The ITIA accepted that the positive test was caused by the contamination of a regulated non-prescription medication (melatonin), manufactured and sold in Poland that the player had been taking for jet lag and sleep issues, and that the violation was therefore not intentional,” the agency said in their Nov. 28 statement.