Wickmayer considers appeal
Reuters - Fri, 06 Nov 19:26:00 2009
Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer, a semi-finalist at this year's US Open, is considering an appeal against a one-year ban for failing to comply with doping regulations.
"We are examining all different options...This news really hit home incredibly hard," the player's spokesman Rudi Kuyl said.
The world number 18 was suspended by the Flemish Doping Tribunal after falling foul of the whereabouts rule, which states that players must notify their national doping agency where they can be reached on a daily basis.
An appeal is possible only at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, Wickmayer's doctor Chris Goossens said that would be a slow and costly process.
Goossens said the suspension would stand during an appeal which meant Wickmayer would be out of competition for several months at least.
Kuyl said one of the options Wickmayer's lawyer was considering was to ask the CAS to suspend the ruling.
"They have never done this, but apparently they can do it," he said.
Wickmayer quit Bali's Tournament of Champions and left the resort island after receiving the ban.
Bali tournament director Kevin Livesey told Reuters that Wickmayer had left the island. She had been due to face Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues in her final group match on Friday and was well-placed to reach the semi-finals.
Fellow Belgian male tennis player Xavier Malisse, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist now ranked 95th, was also suspended for a year for missing a test and twice failing to say where he could be reached.
Malisse, in tears at the news conference in the northern Belgian city of Antwerp, said he thought the suspension meant his career was now over.
"It is very hard to come back... in a year's time I will be 30 and a half. I will then have to play Challengers and Futures again. That is something I can't really see myself doing," Malisse said.
"It is hard to get a one-year suspension if you never used doping."
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Comment 1 - 9 of 9
A year ban for Yanina for not reporting where she is and Serena is free to roam the tennis courts and play tournaments after threatening to kill an official. Kiss my butt!!! How ridiculous the rules have become.What next fitting all athletes with micro chips and monitor their every step. I bet the ratio of USERS of ILLEGAL substances is over 60-70%. Apparently they only examine anyone in the top 50.
Wickmayer and Malisse did not fail the ITF rules. (Sorry i am not english talking). Vlaanderen is the only place in the world where the rules are much harder.
So stop the ban anywhere els than in Belgium. The same rules must apply for everybody.
Thank you.
Let me explain you one thing - you are dealing here with the Flemish authorities in the matter in Belgium. And if you are not aware of the "war" between the two communities in Belgium, you can't understand! I am ashamed to be a belgian citizen and not afraid to say it loud. When you mix politics(in other words - idiots) and sport - that's the result!!!!
Nadal has a problem too with this rule. I read once (correct me if i am wrong), in 2007, Nadal refused to report where he was. Actually, He attended a funeral of relative and there was a call of tennis authorities that he had to report his whereabout. of course he was so upset and refused to do so. He said: I am an athlete, not a criminal. And then, Andy Murray was in holiday at his mother. He complained that He got a call around 6am (in the morning) from Tennis authorities to report his whereabout. Nadal and Murray said, IF THEY KNOW AND CAN CALL ME, WHY SHOULD I REPORT THEM WHERE I AM. Even in a very private matter, Tennis players can not be let alone. So, can you imagine, in the middle of a Funeral of relative, or even when you are with your mother, you still should report yourself. no escape. what a great rule.
in case of Yanina (and Malisse), she just fails to report her whereabouts. She does not fail any drug test, neither Malisse. People should differentiate between fail to report and fail any drug test.
According to some reports this is the third time that Wickmayer has failed to notify authorities on where she is going to be.And although players write down three months in advance where they are going to be they can inform with sms or email or phone call in case some change happens.A year ban might be to harsh-I think they should make her take a drug test and if it's negative then maybe give her a financial fine and money could go to some charity.But Gasquet was only few months out of tennis after failing a drug test and she gets a year ban which is really odd to me.
The ban is ridiculous. If they're going to treat tennis-players as criminals, why not fit them with electronic tags? And to ban Yanina in the middle of the Bali season-ending championships is utterly classless and cruel.
I can't understand how they can say where they will be for 1 hr every day for 3 months in advance. After all, if they are playing in a t'ment during that time - and on average I would think they play at least 3 or 4 t'ments during a 3 month period - and they give the t'ment venue. What happens if they are knocked out in the 1st round. Are they supposed to hang around for the rest of the week, or can they move on to the next venue, or go home?
There are rulez , I think it is right
A one year ban seems overly harsh - it seems like they only get suspended for a couple of months if they actually don't pass a drug test, isn't that right? Like Gasquet? I don't understand giving such a long ban for failing to say where they can be reached.
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