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Wickmayer, Malisse bans suspended

Mon 14th, December 2009

Brussels, Belgium (Sports Network) - One-year doping bans levied on Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse were suspended by a Belgian court on Monday.

The world No. 16 Wickmayer hopes to receive a wild card into next month's Australian Open, where entries have already been closed.

The U.S. Open semifinalist Wickmayer and once-promising Malisse were banned from their respective professional tennis tours for one year last month by the International Tennis Federation when the players were deemed to have broken World Anti-Doping Agency rules by failing to report their whereabouts for drug testing on three occasions.

The ITF based the bans on a local anti-doping tribunal's decision.

The 20-year-old Wickmayer and 29-year-old Malisse asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the penalties, with a ruling expected in the next few months.

A "whereabouts" rule requires players to make themselves available for out- of-competition testing for one hour a day, any day of the year, and players must give three months' notice of where they can be located for testing.

Wickmayer claims she was not properly informed of the online reporting requirements for testing, where player information is registered and can be updated via e-mail or text message.