Nothing could be more horrifying than being wrongfully accused of a foul play in an athlete’s life. There have been a few cases where tennis stars have unknowingly consumed a prohibited substance. The famous one was Maria Sharapova, who faced a ban in 2016. Another one is when Simona Halep was suspended in 2022 after she tested positive for Roxadustat. Today, tennis fans woke up to the tweet, which alleged that Iga Swiatek, along with other Polish players, tested positive for a prohibited substance in the last few years. As the hurricane of another doping scandal was about to shake the tennis world, the Polish Doping Agency came forward to safeguard the players from false propaganda.

The scandal started when a person on X (now removed after Polish authorities cleared the air) made a list of Polish players public. The long list contained the names of five-time Grand Slam champion and Olympic bronze medalist Iga Swiatek. Thus, the ripples were ready to turn into waves sooner than later. However, technology and hacking certainly go together. And the Polish Doping Agency came forward to clarify that this was indeed a cybercrime that was targeted at defaming Poland and its athletes.

They said, “In connection with the hacker attack, we would like to inform you that the data is used by cybercriminals for various purposes. including broadly understood disinformation, Fake news, discrediting Polish athletes appeared in public space.” The authority further asked the tennis fans and circuit not to indulge in the disinformation spread by hackers. They further remarked, “Please do not reproduce them. None of the mentioned athletes obtained a positive result and none of the dates presented correspond to anti-doping controls.” (Translated from Polish)

Hackers have subjected tennis to hacking attacks in the past. Back in 2016, hackers believed to hail from Russia have leaked their fourth batch of medical data stolen from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They released confidential data on 29 athletes, including TUEs (therapeutic use exemptions) for Serena Williams and other tennis players, including Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Petra Kvitova. TUEs are permissions that allow the use of banned substances where a medical condition requires it.

Fortunately, the false alarm was quickly clarified by the authorities. However, doping and tennis have a relationship extending to the past century, which has embroiled Andre Agassi, Richard Gasquet, and Martina Hingis. Tennis isn’t the only sport that is in the limelight for doping violations. Athletics and gymnastics, among others, have also faced the heat of unfair practices by players.

When Andre Agassi and Martina Hingis doping scandal shook the tennis world

Agassi, one of the few players who have claimed 8 majors to their name, dragged tennis into an ugly doping scandal back in 1997. He was suspended for three months following a positive drug test. However, he subsequently alleged that his drink had been spiked, disputing the validity of the test results. However, the latter fact turned out to be false when he revealed his struggles with addiction in his autobiography.

In 2007, Hingis, another big name, became embroiled in the career-ending scandal. She was tested positive for benzoylecgonine (popular cocaine). However, the player announced her retirement soon after the scandal was in the air and continued to maintain her innocence.

Though Iga Swiatek’s name is cleared of all the charges with the clarification from the authorities, sports psychologists have also served the Pole a warning of an uphill battle against depression. The World No.1 seems to catch no break when it comes to bad news. It seems only a Grand Slam win can wash away all the worries!