World No. 16 Yanina Wickmayer has been offered wildcard entry to a WTA tennis tournament in Auckland in January after a Belgian court provisionally lifted her one-year suspension for anti-doping violations. Belgium's Wickmayer and compatriot Xavier Malise received one year bans on Nov. 5 for violating World Anti Doping Agency regulations by failing to report their whereabouts to drug testers. The International Tennis Federation imposed the bans worldwide. Lawyers for Wickmayer, 20, argued she was not properly informed of the reporting requirements and Monday's injunction means she is eligible to play immediately. Brenda Perry, tournament director for the $220,000 ASB Classic which runs from Jan. 4 to 9, said Tuesday she had offered Wickmayer a wildcard. “We've confirmed that if she's allowed to play we're offering her the wildcard,” Perry said. “As our entries have closed the only way she could enter would be via wildcard, and the indication is she wants to play and now we just have to wait for officials to confirm she is allowed to.” A spokesperson for Wickmayer said after the court's ruling Monday she is hoping for wildcard entry to the Australian Open in January as entries have now closed. The International Tennis Federation said it based its ban on the local anti-doping tribunal's decision. Wickmayer's lawyer, Kristof De Saedeleer, said that by suspending the original ruling, the Brussels court made it clear that tennis authorities no longer had a legal basis to justify their penalty. “The ITF took its decision based on a ruling that now cannot be enforced,” he said. “It would be a logical consequence” if both players were reinstated. “This was a first step to make sure our players can be on court as soon as possible again,” he said. Wickmayer and Malisse have already asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the bans. A ruling is expected in the next three months. Beyond the Belgian legal system and CAS, Wickmayer's lawyers are launching appeals with European authorities questioning the legality of WADA's rules.
