Wickmayer gets ready for Auckland event; blames poor communication for anti-doping ban

Wickmayer readies for Auckland tournament

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Yanina Wickmayer took a jab at Belgian doping authorities as she gets ready for her first tournament since a drug ban was lifted.

At Tuesday’s news conference in Auckland, New Zealand, Wickmayer said she was regularly tested during the period she reportedly failed to inform the Flemish National Doping Organization of her whereabouts.

She said she never failed or missed a drug test and the anti-doping agency was aware that she was playing in a televised tournament in Australia.

Wickmayer was suspended last month by her national anti-doping agency for failing three times to report her whereabouts. A Belgian civil court lifted the one-year ban on Dec. 16.

She immediately accepted a wild card to Auckland’s ASB Classic, which starts next week.