US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer voluntarily withdrew from the ongoing Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions on Friday after receiving a one-year suspension by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal. The 20-year-old Wickmayer was suspended Thursday for failing to report her whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times. She has denied any wrongdoing and said on her Web site she plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Stacey Allaster, WTA Tour chief executive, declined to comment specifically on Wickmayer's case, but said the Belgian was handling the matter professionally. "Yanina can appeal the decision to the court of arbitration for sport," Allaster said. "Beginning in 2009, WADA (the World Anti-Doping Association) mandated that all international Olympic sports federations and the national anti-doping agencies were required to implement the whereabouts program," Allaster said. The International Tennis Federation is a founding member of WADA. "It is a fundamental principle that all of us in tennis share that we want to have a fair and clean sport for all players," Allaster said. Wickmayer had no comment. "Because it's an ongoing matter, it's in her best interest to let the matter sit," Allaster said. "The decision's been made, and now she'll deal with it with her legal advisers going forward." Continued... |