‘I’m outside. I’m going to hurt you’: Katie Boulter on the hidden horror of success as a female athlete
Taylor Fritz has slammed “insane” fan bias following the revelation of Iga Swiatek’s one-month suspension for failing a drugs test.
WTA world No 2 Swiatek tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine in August, with news of the Pole’s 30-day ban made public on Thursday.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has had 22 days of her suspension backdated to when she was provisionally suspended, meaning she has only eight more days left to serve.
Similar to the controversy that engulfed ATP world No 1 Jannik Sinner after his doping sanction emerged earlier in 2024, the reaction on social media has been strong – and often partisan.
In response, ATP world No 4 Fritz slammed those who could not form an unbiased opinion on the case.
On Twitter/X, he wrote: “What drives me CRAZY about these situations (in terms of going on X) is not the actual cases themselves.
“It’s tough to know exactly what happened/all the details in these specific instances, so the speculation talk isn’t really my favorite thing to do.
“It’s fine to have your own honest opinions but what I can’t fathom and what is so upsetting to see as a player, is the INSANE bias from the tennis public supporting whatever story pushes the agenda they want to be pushed.
“If it’s a rival of the player you support that tests positive then you are on team ‘let’s call them a doper/cheater/disgrace them as much as possible’ and if it’s your fav player that it’s about then it’s ‘innocent no questions asked.’
