Firmly pitted in the centre of controversy, Iga Świątek has defended her innocence after Simona Halep's "injustice" take.
Świątek, a five-time major winner, tested positive for a banned substance named trimetazidine, a type of heart medication that is currently on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA's) banned list.
In a video posted on social media after the news was released to the public, Świątek spoke in Polish explaining how she endured "sleepless nights" with her future remaining uncertain.
The 23-year-old has already served part of her suspension from September 22 to October 4 with less than three weeks still pending, but was allowed to participate in the Billie Jean King Cup.
Former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep vented her fury about the situation being kept out of the public eye for so long, which is the opposite of what the Romanian experienced after testing positive for Roxadustat.
In a delicate situation, Świątek made her best attempt to ensure people understood her side of the story.
"I know that people need to automatically compare such situations to others that have already happened, but the truth is that each of these cases is completely different. The process of proving innocence will also be different," Świątek told Polish news channel TVN24.
"It's hard to compare me to Sinner, to Halep, to Kamil Majchrzak, because each of us is struggling with a different problem.
"I think this is a question more for ITIA than for the player. My fate, just like the fates of others, was in their hands and they decide how each case will turn out, I trust that this process is objective, that everything is done according to the regulations and no one judges a player this way or that way because of his position. But whether it is really like that, I think this is a question for ITIA."
Shortly after Halep posted her thoughts on social media on the day that Świątek's ruling was announced, she continued to fight for an equal playing field.
"Big pain, big pain. I felt like they [the ITIA] were unfair to me before, but now it’s even more. I was so, so upset and so sad when I saw the situation. It’s just unacceptable, from my point of view," she said.
"I lost my sleep again. I lost it for the two years during the process [of contesting her own doping ban]. Then I got it back. And now, after [what happened], for a few days, I lost it again. All the negative thinking, negative thoughts, it’s not easy to handle," Halep told The Telegraph.
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