“The dumbest people in our sport be like, ‘Oh doping!’: Andy Roddick defends Iga Swiatek in doping controversy

Andy Roddick has once again defended Iga Swiatek amid the controversy surrounding the Polish player’s recent positive doping test. The 2003 US Open champion expressed regret over the uproar, stating that the situation likely didn’t impact Swiatek’s performance.

The five-time Grand Slam champion revealed on social media last weekend that she had tested positive for Trimetazidine a few months ago due to consuming contaminated melatonin. She accepted a one-month suspension, which she is serving during the off-season.

The tennis world was shaken by the announcement, rekindling discussions about Jannik Sinner’s case earlier this year, where he escaped suspension. Criticism has since resurfaced, with figures like Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov alleging unequal treatment for Swiatek and Sinner compared to similar cases involving other players.

In the latest episode of his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former world No. 1 sympathised with Swiatek and absolved her of blame. “It’s just unfortunate for her,” Roddick said. “Obviously, a negative test in Paris at the Olympics, negative tests in New York, so this isn’t some ongoing thing. It just sucks.”

“So let's talk about the doping—it’s not even doping, just contaminated substances and testing for billionths of grams. Some players chirp about these champions, who are future Hall of Famers, yet they’ve never managed to string together two good days of work in their own careers.”

Roddick also criticised those who place excessive importance on such cases, reiterating that the incidents involving Swiatek and Sinner did not influence their performance as multiple Grand Slam champions. “The dumbest people in our sport be like, ‘Oh doping!’ I have taken melatonin before; who’s to say ours isn’t contaminated?” he added.

“Are we going to continue to clutch pearls about one-one-billionth of a gram of something that didn’t have any performance enhancement? What are we trying to solve with the ITIA and then to WADA?,” Andy Roddick added. “What are we trying to solve for? Performance enhancement. If we’re seeing, and all the scientists are telling us in the independent tribunals, those types of people are saying, ‘It didn’t enhance performance at all.’ Then why do we care?”