“Why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgment?”, wrote in Simona Halep while reacting to Iga Swiatek‘s doping scandal last week. Halep, who herself went through a suspension phase after testing positive for doping wasn’t happy with the ITIA’s way of treating Iga’s case. Simply because the latter received a very brief ban compared to the Romanian who was initially handed a 4-year suspension. So is Iga getting preferential treatment? Well, the rumors have suggested that. But there’s more to this than meets the eye. A former WTA pro and Serena Williams’ ex-coach has now come forward while giving a much-needed clarity on this matter.

Former Australian doubles legend Rennae Stubbs shared her honest thoughts on Iga’s doping controversy in an episode of the Rennae Stubbs Podcast, dated December 3. In the last one week, various rumors have claimed she received leniency from the ITIA due to being a top-ranked player. “Look, some of it might be true”, she said. Continuing further, she added that “they both have money, and they both have lawyers, and they both have a team to be able to get behind them, to get to the bottom of it really quickly as opposed to other things.” But she she also highlighted that even Simon Halep, who accused Iga of having a preferential treatment, had “plenty of money, plenty of resources.” So what’s the the actual difference in their cases?

While giving an explanation, Rennae said, “I think the issue and the difference is that it took her (Simona) a long time to figure out where the contamination was coming from.” “That is part of the problem for her. And then also she had quite a large amount of whatever the stuff (Roxadustat) was. That was in her system.” she added in the podcast. Basically, she implied that in Iga’s situation, her team was able to timely identity how she got the substance in the first place. It was due to her medication (melatonin) getting contaminated. On the other hand, Simona couldn’t figure out the same on time. It then led to a delay and more complications in her case.

But it seems like even this clarity won’t do any good for Iga Swiatek. Ever since she revealed that she tested positive for a banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the former World No.1 has been receiving harsh reactions. Especially from tennis pros who think she’s at fault.

Tara Moore criticizes Iga Swiatek over the doping scandal and alleged inequality

The British WTA pro was annoyed by how Iga’s case was handled by the ITIA. Moore was upset over the fact that Swiatek was allowed to play in two major events last month, despite serving an active ban. For those unaware, the five-time Grand Slam winner had received a provisional suspension from September 12 to October 4. Additionally, she was handed a 1-month ban, which is yet to end on December 4. According to the rules, a player can’t participate in a competitive event while serving the ban. But Swiatek was still allowed to do so. She played the WTA Finals and then the BJK Cup in Malaga last month.

Obviously, Tara Moore was unhappy with this situation. While expressing her disappointment, she wrote on X, “Wait… so she was supposed to be suspended until Dec 4th yet played BJK cup.. which was (correct me if I’m wrong) LAST WEEK. HOW WAS SHE ALLOWED TO PLAY WHILST BEING SUSPENDED??? Someone plz explain cause I’m spiralling.”

For the unversed, Moore had also received a ban due to doping. After testing positive for a banned substance, she received a suspension back in June 2022. She was away from the court for 19 months where she couldn’t play in any competitive tournament. But she couldn’t believe how Iga got a clearance for the same in the middle of serving her ban duration. Not to mention that she was also annoyed with the fact that Iga got a shorter ban in general. What do you have to say on this entire situation? Let us know in the comments below.