Tennis

Wickmayer acceps wild card to play in New Zealand

Published Dec. 17, 2009 7:14 p.m. ET

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Yanina Wickmayer has accepted a wild card to play in the ASB Classic women's tennis tournament one day after a Belgian court overturned her one-year ban for breaching anti-doping regulations.

Wickmayer was suspended last month by the Flemish National Doping Organization for failing on three occasions to report her whereabouts as required by World Anti-Doping Agency policies.

A Belgian civil court lifted that ban on Wednesday and the International Tennis Federation said she was free to return to the women's tour.

Organizers of the $220,000 Auckland tournament, from Jan. 4-9, immediately offered her a wild card. The 16th-ranked Wickmayer will be the tournament's third seed based on current entries.

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