Belgian tennis star Yanina Wickmayer is "devastated and shattered" by the one year ban imposed on her for falling foul of doping regulations, her coach Ana Devries told Belgian TV.
"She sounded devastated and shattered and was in tears when I spoke to her over the phone in Bali," Devries said referring to the 20-year-old's participation this week in the WTA Tournament of Champions event in Indonesia.
"One year is far too severe a sanction for someone who has not been found guilty of doping," she said.
"Just like that she will lose all that she has gained from several years of hard work. In a year's time she will have lost all her WTA points and will have to start again from zero."
Wickmayer, who burst onto the scene in September with a run into the US Open semi-finals, and her Belgian compatriot Xavier Malisse, were handed one-year bans by the Flemish Doping Tribunal (VDT) on Thursday.
The world No. 18 was accused of failing on three occasions to fulfill the ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System) under which athletes are obliged to tell national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour each day for a three-month period.
{{/usCountry}}The world No. 18 was accused of failing on three occasions to fulfill the ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration and Management System) under which athletes are obliged to tell national anti-doping authorities where they will be at a chosen hour each day for a three-month period.
{{/usCountry}}Malisse was also punished for missing a drugs test.
The sanctions came as a surprise as only last month it was expected that the two players would escape with just a reprimand.
Wickmayer, who has been seen as a potential Grand Slam winner in the making, immediately pulled out of end-of-the year Bali tournament missing her final group match against Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues.
A spokesman for Wickmayer, Rudi Kuyl, called the VDT verdict "absurd and unjust" adding that they would be considering lodging an appeal with the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).