Iga Swiatek Controversy Makes World No.268 Confess Going into $200,000 Debt for Proving Innocence in 19-Month Doping Ban

The tennis world was left stunned when Iga Swiatek was suspended for 30 days by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). She tested positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024. The debate amongst the tennis community is mainly about different players getting different treatment for possibly similar offenses.

Among many voicing their opinions, Tara Moore, the World No.268 from Great Britain, discussed her ordeal when it came to dealing with the ITIA. Moore was suspended in June 2022 for 19 months after anabolic steroids, boldenone and nandrolone, were found in one of her out-of-competition samples.

It was only in January 2024 that she was allowed to play at the Australian Open since it was revealed that the contamination of the sample was due to meat.

However, a lot of damage was already done, affecting not just Moore’s confidence and rankings but also her finances. In her latest tweet, Moore prayed that no innocent player should have to go through a $200,000 debt to clear their name from such accusations.

Moore revealed that she has joined hands with the Novak Djokovic-led PTPA to help those players who need representation in such cases but might lack the resources to do so.

This is a shocking revelation since Moore’s overall career prize money earnings are a mere $622,124. She has been on the WTA Tour for almost eight years and has struggled to compete.

The 19-month ban limited her earnings to approximately $68,000 from playing on court over the last three seasons. With tennis being an expensive sport, the Brit had to work hard to fight her case and eventually succeeded.

So it isn’t a surprise that Moore is aligned with the PTPA, whose mission is to give lower-ranked players a fighting chance to play tennis professionally. Moore is also fearless, taking on the establishment on social media for the way doping cases are handled, especially that of Swiatek.

Moore also expressed shock at Swiatek being allowed to play during suspension

From Moore’s recent tweets, the thought is that the likes of Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have the necessary funds and, as a result, the personnel to defend their respective cases.

Moore has slammed the WTA and the ITIA for allowing Swiatek to play in the recent Billie Jean King Cup despite being ‘suspended’. The belief here is that the governing bodies are perhaps trying to protect such players so that the sport doesn’t suffer.

Swiatek might not be the favorite on the women’s tour anymore, despite being proven innocent apart from the 30-day suspension. But Moore’s comments are set to ruffle more feathers and put pressure on governing bodies to be more accountable in such cases.