The doping cases involving Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep have been described as an “absolute tragedy” by former world number 4 Guy Forget.

Sinner, Swiatek and Halep – all multiple Grand Slam champions – have made headlines amid doping violations in 2024.

Former world number 1 and two-time major winner Halep had his initial four-year ban reduced to just nine months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in March.

This allowed the Romanian to immediately return to the WTA circuit, after being sidelined since the 2022 US Open.

Meanwhile, current ATP No. 1 Sinner and WTA world No. 2 Swiatek were both involved in doping sagas throughout the second half of the season.

There are naturally nuances and differences between the three cases, although a key similarity is that all three were ultimately cleared of intentionally consuming banned substances.

Talk to Tennis NewsFormer French ATP star Forget said such cases were “an absolute tragedy for those who are innocent”, referring to the three stars in question.

He said: “I always feel like there is such a level of sophistication in testing. There is a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic swimming pool.

“There are so many players who take food supplements and vitamins, who can take polluted elements and which, even without knowing it, lead to positive tests.

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“This is an absolute tragedy for those who are innocent – ​​I’m not talking about the guilty and the repeat offenders.

“I put myself in the place of an athlete who tested positive for a substance in infinitesimal quantities. We can say to ourselves: “They are going to prevent me from living my passion” – without wanting to cheat.

“I see things a bit like that for Halep, Swiatek and Sinner.”

Sinner was initially deemed “clean” by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in August 2024 after testing positive twice for clostebol in March.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has since announced an appeal against the ITIA’s decision to the CAS, questioning the severity of the sanction imposed on the Italian.

World number one Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, then will win his second major title at the US Open just weeks after the decision in his case was made public.

Meanwhile, Swiatek was suspended for a month in November after being found “without significant misconduct” following a failed drug test at the Cincinnati Open in August.

The Polish woman successfully argued that her melatonin medication was inadvertently contaminated by TMZ.

Swiatek has won five WTA titles in 2024, including a fourth triumph at Roland Garros.

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