Tennis News: Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek treatment, Jakub Mensik's test

Tennis has had its most interesting year in a long time. We did not see Novak Djokovic win a Grand Slam for the first time in years, while Jannik Sinner won the first two of his career. Several high-quality players retired, such as Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. There is little doubt that tennis will look differently in 2025, especially since electronic line calls will occur at all ATP events (minus the French Open).

Speaking of Sinner, though, he and WTA No. 2 Iga Swiatek both failed drug tests during the year. Sinner failed his at Indian Wells in March, while Swiatek's failed test was in August at the Cincinnati Open. Swiatek was suspended for a month, but Sinner was not truly disciplined.

Even Swiatek's one-month ban was shorter than those given to many other players. Simona Halep was initially banned for four years after failing a drug test at the US Open in 2022. That seemed extreme, and this is especially true in light of what Sinner and Swiatek received.

ITIA chief answers questions about Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, and Jakub Mensik gets a weird question

According to a talk with Tennis365, International Tennis Integrity Agency CEO Karen Moorhouse believes the punishment (or lack thereof) doled out to Sinner and Swiatek wasn't unfair compared to other players. This seems somewhat ridiculous as even Swiatek and Sinner's discipline, though both were found not guilty of any wrongdoing, was different.

Moorhouse said, "It’s the same rules and the same processes for every player. All cases are different and each case turns on individual facts...Let’s take Swiatek and Halep. The CAS tribunal found that her (Halep’s) supplement was contaminated. So just in relation to that finding, they said nine months (suspension)...In relation to Swiatek, the contaminated product was a medication."

It does seem as if the ITIA is being very specific in how they view different banned substances, but that also implies one banned substance is worse than another. That might be fair, but then any kind of substance is illegal so the punishments should be the same and regulated. The ITIA certainly does not do this well.

Another player who was recently asked to do a drug test was Jakub Mensik. The difference is that Mensik was oddly asked to do one during a match at the ATP Next Gen finals. After dropping the first two sets (each set goes to four and not six at the Next Gen event), Mensik left the court to take a quick break to regroup but was met in the tunnel by an official asking him to do the test.

Tennis needs to get right. The sport needs to regulate when tests are taken, and when players are asked to do tests. But tennis also needs some kind of structure in how players are suspended for a failed test or the sport risks losing integrity and fans.

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