Yanina Wickmayer

NEW YORK -- Teenager Yanina Wickmayer is in her first Grand Slam semifinal 10 years after she and her father left behind their lives in Belgium to chase her tennis dream in Florida.

The unseeded 19-year-old beat Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5, 6-4 at the U.S. Open on Wednesday. She joins fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters in the semis and is guaranteed to face another teen -- American Melanie Oudin or No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

Ranked 50th, Wickmayer had never made it past the second round at a Grand Slam tournament.

When Wickmayer was 9, her mother died of cancer. Even at that young age, she realized she needed to get away from home, to start anew. Her father, who owned a construction company, quit his job so they could move to the Tampa area. They left behind their house, their cars, their friends.

On Wednesday, Wickmayer rallied to win the last five games of the second set to close out the 52nd-ranked Bondarenko of Ukraine.

"I missed a few opportunities," Wickmayer said. "I was pretty mad at myself. I kept fighting and kept hanging in there and just came back."

Later Wednesday, the 17-year-old, unseeded Oudin will try to keep her dream run going with a quarterfinal match against the 19-year-old Wozniacki.

Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer

Yanina Wickmayer

At a tearful news conference, the 20-year-old US Open semifinalist accused the World Anti-Doping Agency and Belgian sports authorities of treating her unfairly and ruining her career.

"The people who made the rules are not really conscious of what this means for my future,'' Wickmayer said. "I am No. 16 in the world. They are taking my work of 10 years away. Just like that! Just because I didn't fill in (my whereabouts)'' on a website created for that purpose, she added.

"They should inform us better on how this system works. I am being punished for something that was not in my hands, that I had no control over.''

Wickmayer was suspended by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal last week for failing three times to report her whereabouts for drug testing. The ban was confirmed by the International Tennis Federation last Saturday.

Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina WickmayerAnother Belgian player, 2002 Wimbledon semifinalist Xavier Malisse, was also banned for a year for the same offense. Wickmayer said she has been regularly tested for drugs, and never tested positive.

Although Wickmayer had indicated she would appeal the suspension, she refused Thursday to say if and when she will appeal. "I don't know what the future is going to bring,'' she said.

Wickmayer said a year away from the tour will break her career. "It means that my ranking is going to drop completely,'' she said. "It means I have to start all over again. The next year will not be a challenge for me because all can do is practice. I am just a girl of 20 trying to reach my goals. I am working hard every single day. I am really sad about the decision they made.''

Wickmayer said anti-doping officials corresponded with registered mail to her home in Belgium where she lives with her father, who is also her coach. The two travel together several months of the year, meaning registered mail remains unopened.
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina WickmayerWickmayer expressed surprise that no one phoned or emailed her when the mail went unanswered. Under WADA's "whereabouts'' rule, elite athletes must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for one hour a day, 365 days a year.

They must give three months' notice of where and when they will be so they can be tested. The data is kept online where it can be changed. If athletes miss three out-of-competition tests or fail three times to register where they will be for anti-doping tests they risk sanctions.
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina WickmayerWickmayer said a year away from the tour will break her career. "It means that my ranking is going to drop completely,'' she said. "It means I have to start all over again. The next year will not be a challenge for me because all can do is practice. I am just a girl of 20 trying to reach my goals. I am working hard every single day. I am really sad about the decision they made.''

Wickmayer said anti-doping officials corresponded with registered mail to her home in Belgium where she lives with her father, who is also her coach. The two travel together several months of the year, meaning registered mail remains unopened.

Wickmayer expressed surprise that no one phoned or emailed her when the mail went unanswered. Under WADA's "whereabouts'' rule, elite athletes must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for one hour a day, 365 days a year.