Cincinnati Masters
Swiatek secret sanction marks near-completion of doping case
Iga Swiatek has nearly put her positive doping test form last August on the back burner, with her surprise pullouts from three autumn Asian events now explained.
The world No. 2 who tested positive for what turned out to be tainted melatonin at the Cincinnati Masters in August, has taken to social media to explain the situation.
Swiatek was given a slap on the wrist without fault and served 22 days of a 30-day suspension.
She now owes eight more suspended days but reports indicate that will not prevent her from lining up for Poland at the United Cup in Australia from late December.
Swiatek tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine but was subject to a light touch by the International Tennis Integrity Agency [ITIA] due to “no significant fault or negligence” in the case.
“It turns out testing revealed historically lowest levels of trimetazidine, a substance I’ve never heard about before. I don’t think I even knew it existed. I have never encountered it, nor did people around me.
“So I had a strong sense of injustice and these first few weeks were really chaotic. We instantly reacted and co-operated with the ITIA.
“The detected concentrations, which was extremely low, suggested – or rather 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 on all nutritional supplements and medications I was taking.
“The test showed that melatonin, I’ve been using a long time, the batch I had on me and had used before the Cincinnati tournament was contaminated during manufacturing. It was a shock to hear, but explained a lot – and locating the source is key in these cases.”
Carlos Alcaraz could miss the entire grass season if a worst-case scenario on his wrist injury comes into play.
The Spaniard has already withdrawn from title defences on clay at Rome and Roland Garros after injuring the wrist this month in Barcelona.
But latest reports from Spain indicate that the world No. 2 could possibly not be back until the start of the US Open run-up next August, possibly at the Cincinnati Masters.
Rome’s La Gazzetta dello Sport broke the bad news on the fitness state of Alcaraz, winner of the last two French Open editions. The paper reported there was no chance for the player to compete either at Queen’s club, London, or Wimbledon, which begins in late June.
Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz reached Wimbledon final 2025 – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner became the youngest man to complete the full set of hard-court victories by beating Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7) in the searing heat of Indian Wells.
The 24 year old Italian, didn’t face a break point during the final nor did he drop a set on his way to claiming his first title of the year and his 25th overall.
Sinner has won both hard court Grand Slams, with victories at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and at the US Open in 2024.
In addition he has lifted all six Masters 1000 series hard court titles – adding the Indian Wells title to victories in Miami, Toronto, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris plus the season-ending ATP Finals.
Only Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have achieved the same feat.
Main photo:- Jannik Sinner lifts Indian Wells Trophy – by ATPTour.com
Felix Auger-Aliassime bounced back after a slow start, with the Canadian raiding his game along with his expectations on Wednesday at the ATP Dubai event.
The top seed survived the loss of his opening serve to prevail 6-4, 6-4 over France’s Giovanni Mpetschi Perricard.
Victory marked the 10th quarter-final or higher at 11 tournament for FAA dating to Cincinnati last August.
The seed’s game is on the mend after a hiccup in the form of an Australian Open first-round loss, with FAA winning the Montpellier title and reaching this month’s Rotterdam final against Alex de Minaur.
Auger-Aliassime said that he tries to set an example to his team by way of keeping his tennis standards high.
“I’m responsible, I’m the one stepping onto the court – I’m the (support) team leader.
“I need to uphold the standards I want for my career.”
The winner who broke three times, said the ball reacted differently as he played for the first time in the afternoon.
“I couldn’t find my serve in the first few games, I needed to get some rhythm. he also made it difficult for me. I’m glad I was able to find a way back into the set.
The Canadian No. 1 improved his record against French opponents to 15-1 since the start of 2025.
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