Last year was quite a rollercoaster for Polish No.1 Iga Swiatek. She skipped the Asian swing for an entire month, telling fans she would be off the court for “personal reasons.” But in November 2024, the ITIA revealed she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August. She served a one‑month suspension. The tennis world was stunned. Now, another player faces the same fate.

Portuguese player Frederico Ferreira Silva, ranked World No.234, has been hit with a one‑month ban after testing positive for TMZ. The ITIA confirmed the news on Wednesday, September 24. The 30‑year‑old produced the positive sample during an in‑competition test back in February 2025.

The twist? As tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg pointed out on X, it is much like Swiatek’s case, officials ruled the positive result came from contamination of a regulated prescription medication. The violation was deemed unintentional. But because TMZ is classed as a non‑Specified Substance, Silva faced a mandatory provisional suspension on March 19, 2025. He even appealed to an independent tribunal chair. The challenge didn’t change the decision. The one‑month suspension now stands.

The ITIA judged Silva’s level of fault as very low. The contaminated product, Daflon 1000mg, was a regulated prescription medication. A specialist sports medicine doctor prescribed it. His national tennis federation purchased it after consultation. Still, this wasn’t just a minor slip-up.

According to the ITIA statement, “No Fault or Negligence was not applicable as a recall notice had previously been issued by the Agence nationale de sécurité du medicament (ANSM) due to known TMZ contamination of another Daflon product.” With that precedent set, the org mirrored similar contaminated medication cases under the World Anti-Doping Code. Silva accepted the one‑month suspension offer on 15 September 2025.