Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse have had their one-year bans for violating anti-doping rules suspended by a Belgian court.
The lawyers of world number 16 Wickmayer, who was a semi-finalist at the U.S. Open this year, are hopeful the injunction will make her eligible to play as soon as possible, with Wickmayer hoping for a last-minute wildcard at the Australian Open next month.
"This was a first step to make sure our players can be on court as soon as possible again," said Wickmayer's lawyer Kristof De Saedeleer.
Banned
Wickmayer and Malisse were suspended by a Belgian court in November for breaking World Anti-Doping Agency rules by failing to report their whereabouts for drug testing on three occasions. The International Tennis Federation then imposed the bans worldwide.
Wickmayer and Malisse have already asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the bans with a ruling expected in the next three months.
The 20-year-old Wickmayer claims she was not properly informed of the online reporting requirements for drug-testing that led to her ban.
De Saedeleer added that the Brussels court had made it clear that tennis authorities no longer had a legal basis to justify their penalty after suspending the original ruling, stating it would be "a logical consequence" if both players were reinstated.
"The ITF took its decision based on a ruling that now cannot be enforced," he said.