“You don’t want to have a bad image on tour, but you know that some people think badly of you, so it’s hard” said Iga Swiatek‘s new coach Wim Fissette amidst her doping controversy. The five-time Grand Slam champion has received heavy backlash from several tennis pros ever since she revealed she tested positive for Trimetazidine (TMZ). Iga did mention she had no idea how her medication (Melatonin) got contaminated with the banned substance. However, players like Nick Kyrgios and former Russian pro Yevgeny Kafelnikov believe she is to blame. Now, Iga’s current trainer has come forward with a fitting reply to them.

Nick Kyrgios began taking jabs at Iga on social media as soon as the report came out. On X, he shared a post and wrote “OUR SPORT IS COOKED” while referring to Swiatek testing positive. In another post, he questioned her accountability as a pro player. Per Iga, she had no clue how TMZ got into her medication. However, Nick didn’t get convinced. “The excuse that we can all use is that we didn’t know. Simply didn’t know. Professionals at the highest level of sport can now just say “we didn’t know”,” he wrote. Not long after his reactions, Russian ex-pro Yevgeny Kafelnikov also took a dig at the Pole. He even suggested a lifetime ban on her! “It should be LIFE ban for anybody who gets caught using ban substances! NO excuses and ZERO tolerance no matter who your are!!!!” he wrote on X.

Iga Swiatek’s new coach Wim Fissette has been observing what’s transpired in the last one month. Being the main trainer, how could he stay behind in raising voice for her? Finally, he hit back at Nick and Kafelnikov while questioning them without taking any names. In an interaction with Przeglad Sportowy Onet, dated December 16, Fissette targeted Kyrgios and said, “There will always be people who will be negative, but I think that anyone who has read all the documents that Iga has provided and shown to the whole world can see what happened. And he should understand that it was just bad luck.”

“This can happen to any player. I think that for those people who are negative about the matter, we should ask some questions about the Iga report and thus check whether they would read it”, he said while collectively responding to the Australian and ex-Russian pro. For the unversed, the International Tennis Integrity Agency had mentioned that Swiatek didn’t deliberately take the banned substance. “In relation to the Player’s level of fault, as the contaminated product was a regulated non-prescription medication in the player’s country of origin and purchase and considering all the circumstances of its use (and other contaminated product cases under the World Anti-Doping Code), the player’s level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence’” read ITIA’s statement.

Meanwhile, other former tennis pros have also come forward in support of Iga Swiatek. Ex-American legend Andy Roddick happens to be one of them.

Andy Roddick believes Iga Swiatek is not guilty in the doping scandal

In an interaction with Christian’s Court, Roddick clearly defended Swiatek. Raising his voice for her, he tried to imply that she’s innocent. “I can’t call it doping. It’s like taking melatonin for jet lag at 2:30 in the morning in Cincy and having… think about how many things had to go wrong for Iga Swiatek to get popped for melatonin and something that was contaminated,” he said.

Moreover, he offered a little piece of advice, too, to Iga. He suggested her to not get panicked by constant questioning over the case. And that she should remain patient no matter how many times she’s targeted with harsh reactions. “There will certainly be things to deal with. She is going to get asked about it every time. It will be as if whoever has asked the question hasn’t been able to read her responses before—they are going to make her say it again and again… Don’t have a moment where you are exhausted by it. Just be patient with the process and do what you have to do. The more emotion you show, the more likely it is to be a story over and over again,” he said.

Previously, Roddick even questioned the purpose of testing athletes for traces of a substance. Especially one that actually doesn’t boost their performance (Melatonin in Iga’s case). “You took melatonin? I took melatonin. Are we going to continue to catch athletes for trace amounts of the substance or contaminated melatonin that had no effect on increasing performance? What are we trying to solve with ITIA and WADA? Increasing performance. That’s what we want to stop. If all the scientists from independent organizations tell us that it doesn’t increase performance, then what the f**k do we care?”, he said while defending the Pole.

It seems clear that the 2003 US Open winner is on the side of the Polish tennis sensation. He will keep supporting her through thick and thin, no matter what. What are your thoughts on the doping controversy? Do you think Iga deliberately took the prohibited substance? Let us know in the comments below.