Thursday, March 26, 2008
Bob Larson's
TENNIS CELEBS
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IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE...
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Appearing Soon
Money Mountain
He Said... She Said
Happy Birthday
NEWS
WTA’s Scott Surprises Tennis by Leaving for Collegiate Conference Position
Just a few months ago Larry Scott was widely being spoken about as the man to finally bring sense to the alphabet soup that is the world leadership of tennis and finally become the overall commissioner of both the men’s and women’s game. Now, after an amazing U turn, he has announced he is to turn his back on the sport altogether.
Scott, 44, was without doubt the most successful leader of women’s tennis and his list of achievements in six years at the helm of the WTA Tour is star studded. Most importantly he successfully led the fight to finally achieve equal prize money at all four of the sport’s Grand Slam tournaments and he brokered the six-year, $88 million title sponsorship commitment from Sony Ericsson that left so many sports open mouthed in admiration and envy.
Basically, in the six years he has been in charge of the WTA Tour since moving from the ATP and succeeding the hugely disappointing Kevin Wolff, Scott was either responsible and hugely involved with establishing a fivefold increase in sponsorship revenue, a 250 percent increase in overall revenue, a 40 percent increase in prize money and $710 million in new stadium investments.
But now he is moving to an area of sports administration that is frankly alien to him, the American collegiate system, and will become Commissioner of the NCAA’s PAC-10 Conference. Those outside of the United States open their eyes quizzically, particularly in Europe where so much of the power base in world tennis now lies, simply asking why?
Scott’s answer in his carefully worded statement doesn’t seem to answer the question and there is no mention of the fact he may well be doubling his salary to a figure in excess of $2 million a year. He maintains: “With women’s professional tennis more popular than ever, the Tour in the strongest business position in its history and a fantastic senior management team in place, now is the right time for me to embrace a new challenge consistent with my family and personal goals, and leave room for the next generation of Tour leadership to take on new responsibilities.”
His only real dealings with American collegiate sport was to captain the Harvard tennis team in the mid 1980’s and win All American honors before graduating. Now On July 1, midway through the Wimbledon championships which for many mark the high water mark of the tennis year, Scott will replace Tom Hansen, who announced his retirement last year after 26 years as the commissioner of the NCAA’s Pac-10 Conference.
“They were looking for a different kind of leader from, let’s say, other conferences typical in this position,” Scott said “They see this as a turning point for the Pac-10 and are looking for a new approach to promoting and branding the conferences as well as television and sponsorships.”
Now the inquest will begin on why he has decided to move on. Clearly there are issues that he doesn’t feel he can ever win such as getting the Williams sisters to adhere to every part of his Roadmap plans for the women’s tour which means competing again at Indian Wells where they still insist they were racially abused early in the decade. And is widely believed that Sony Ericsson will not renew their contract when the current deal expires in two years time. Dee Dutta, the conduit of the deal, has long since left the company and the fact Maria Sharapova has been largely inactive since signing to become a World Amabassador for the company, missing two Sony Ericsson Opens and the year ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Qatar, have not helped.
It should also be remembered that although Scott’s tenure at the WTA has been full of successes, he was an integral part of the ATP’s deal with the Swiss marketing company ISL in the late 1990’s that caused huge embarrassment . After ditching many front line and committed sponsors to make way for an umbrella deal with ISL, the company went bankrupt, causing Scott and the former CEO of the ATP Mark Miles to do much back peddling.
Clearly Scott’s experience in brokering good television deals was paramount in the new appointment and he added: ““I’ve picked up on the sense that some people feel that the Pac-10 may not be boxing at their appropriate weight, so to speak. One of the skill sets that I bring is dealing with television for 15 years and dealing with all of the major networks over that time.”
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WTA’s Scott Explains his Actions
Larry Scott has admitted that his decision to turn his back on tennis and begin a new career as Commissioner of the NCAA’s PAC-10 Conference was prompted by his failure to convince the ATP board that the time was right to combine men’s and women’s tennis in one supremely marketable entity.
Scott revealed he yearned to link the roles of chief executive of both the ATP World Tour and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Indeed when Etienne de Villiers announced he was standing down from the men’s tour last year, Scott was interviewed for the post and made a presentation outlining the benefits of joining the two roles.
He was unsuccessful with the ATP board instead deciding to appoint former Nike executive Adam Helfant. But Scott said: “I really had a deep belief and vision that the men's and women's tours should merge to really fully unlock the value of professional tennis and really allow tennis to compete at a higher level.
“Having been an executive at the ATP for eleven years, and now six years at the helm of the WTA, there is no question in my mind that both the men's tour and the women's tour would be stronger, and tennis would be stronger and compete better with other sports, if the tours merged for a variety of reasons.
“So I advocated for that and I campaigned for that. I had a chance to meet with the ATP board in December where I proposed it formally to them, and for a variety of reasons it wasn't accepted. It's clear that tennis, for whatever reasons, isn't ready for that vision to be realized.”
Scott sees clear benefits of an amalgamation of the men’s and women’s tours. Speaking at the outset of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he said: “I'm out there every day in the television markets, sponsorship market, competing for media space. We would present the sport in a less fragmented way if it was together.
“An example is this tournament. If you're a fan in Europe, you watch the men's matches on one channel, the women's matches on a different channel. That can't be the smartest way to present the sport.
“There are slightly different rules and regulations, branding and sponsors. It's a very long list of things that are different. I think I've got a very simple notion that the easier we make it for fans to follow tennis and understand, the more following there will be and the stronger we'll be commercially. In terms of our limited resources for marketing and promotion and media, it would just be much more powerful. “
Having his recommendations ignored, Scott decided the time was right for a period of introspection over Christmas and the New Year. He did not travel to the Australian Open and came to the conclusion that he wanted to spend less time traveling the world and more in the company of his wife and three young children who are all under the age of ten.
“That was also an awakening for me,” he said, insisting he did not go looking for the Pac10 post but the offer arrived at a very timely moment. “I realized how much I was missing, sort of being home and how much not traveling constantly and being on the treadmill. It was time to put the passport away for a while.
“So it was very much a personal decision and desire to travel less and be with my family, twinned with this realization that if tennis is not ready to come together and realize a bigger potential, maybe I've done all I can really do.
Scott is eager to put a gloss on the current economic situation as he leaves the WTA Tour, claiming it is in good financial shape by saying "We haven't lost any tournaments or title sponsors." But that ignores the reality that some tournaments have lost all or some of their secondary sponsors, and that the ground-breaking contract that he signed with Sony Ericsson is unlikely to be renewed.
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Clijsters to Test Returning to the Tour
After weeks of educated speculation, former world no.1 Kim Clijsters confirmed that she will be returning to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour during the North American hard court season in the build up to the US Open which begins August 31.
Clijsters' initial plans simply focus on three tournaments: Cincinnati, Toronto and the U.S. Open. However she is bound to attract numerous wild card invitations and her popularity in both her native Europe and Australia – where she became known as Aussie Kim after her lengthy engagement to Lleyton Hewitt – will make her an in demand asset to events around the globe.
"That's all for now. I want to see if I can still do it," said Clijsters. "I want to see where I am and what is possible, how many weeks I can be away. Those are the type of details I need to work out. I have missed playing tournaments most. I am doing it for the challenge. I have been training for 11 or 12 weeks, training harder than ever before."
The thought of making a comeback came after she accepted the invitation to play with Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman in a series of exhibition matches to test the new roof over Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
"When I started preparing for the Wimbledon game I felt this drive. I wanted a new challenge," she said. "(But) this is just for fun for now to see if I can do it. I don't need to be No. 1 again. I have done that and I don't need to do it again. I am just going to see how things evolve."
A major factor in her decision to retire was that she had suffered a number of injuries and she was wary of the effect it would have on her later in life. Those fears are still there and it is something she is addressing as she prepares to return to competition.
"I am really looking at my weak points to prevent injuries," she stressed. "I train six days a week, half of which is building up stamina and physique. And I am more mature now and you know how your body will react to certain things."
"I am curious to see if life on tour with a family is possible, I think it is,” said the right-handed baseliner who won 34 singles titles and held the top ranking for a total of 19 weeks in three separate spells between August 2003 and May 2006.
“I think I can make it as good for my daughter as it is for me. I think I can be successful. "I am still young. I turn 26 in a few months. I think I am capable of doing it. But there are lot of details now, new things that have changed on tour and in my personal life."
As has been widely reported she took advice from another former world no.1 Lindsay Davenport who returned to the tour after motherhood. The Californian won three of the first four tournaments she played following her maternity break but is again uncompetitive as she awaits the arrival of a second child.
“I have stayed in touch with Lindsay in the last couple of years,” said Clijsters. “Never really about tennis, but more about the children," she said. But my last email I had with her was more about tennis. Asking her about her life on the tour and what her experience was.
"How she managed to balance the personal life and tennis life. How she worked with the WTA more so, what the options were, and so far it was very nice to hear there were no restrictions coming from that direction of the WTA or the tournament organisers.”
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All Kinds of Bets Floating Around About Federer’s Baby
British bookmakers have not missed a beat with the announcement that Roger Federer and girlfriend Mirka are expecting a child this summer. Odds have already been laid on the infant's chances of one day winning Wimbledon.
Ladbroke's puts the possibilities at 200/1 that the yet-to-be-born baby can follow in his father's footsteps and win the All England club title by 2035. And to cover all bases, there are similar odds that if the baby is a boy he will be named Rafael in honor of Federer’s friend and rival Rafael Nadal.
There are also possible punts on Tiger (Woods) at 66/1.
"If Federer junior is half as good as Federer senior we'll be running for cover," joked spokesman for the London betting house.
Federer and longtime partner Mirka Vavrinec are 4/5 to get married this year and 6/4 to wait until 2010.
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Buchholz to be Honored by Hall of Fame Tonight
Tonight, March 26, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and First Serve will host a special evening honoring 2005 Hall of Famer Butch Buchholz while also celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Sony Ericsson Open. The event will take place in Miami, Florida at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Slated to appear is eight-time Grand Slam singles champion (and six-time Miami Masters Series Champion) Andre Agassi, along with Hall of Famers Gabriela Sabatini, Bud Collins and Fred Stolle. Honorary Chairs for the event are Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, The Honorable Jeb Bush and Hall of Fame President Tony Trabert. Tennis analyst and commentator Cliff Drysdale will serve as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies. A cocktail reception and silent auction will take place 7:00pm to 8:00pm, with dinner and event program starting at 8:00pm
Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005 as a Contributor to the sport, Butch Buchholz has played key roles in the evolution of both professional and amateur tennis. He has been a pioneer in developing both men’s and women’s tennis, using his expertise in fundraising, sponsorship and marketing to help create a wider audience for numerous events throughout the world. He has served tennis in many professional and administrative capacities, including Commissioner of World Team Tennis (1977-78), ATP Executive Director (1981-82) and member of the men’s pro council (1981-83). He has also worked as Tournament Director for numerous events, including the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (he is currently Chairman and Co-Founder), which got its start in 1985.
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Ivanovic is Designing T-Shirts for Charity
Ana Ivanovic, in co-operation with the United Nations Children's Fund, is launching her own limited edition adidas t-shirts, with a portion of every sale to be donated to UNICEF charities.
A special website, www.anastyle.com, has been created, where fans are invited to cast their votes for their favorite designs in order to determine which ones are produced. There are three types of t-shirt - women's, girls' and unisex - and the two most popular designs in each category will be made. The deadline for voting is April 5, and everyone who votes will be entered into a draw for one of five t-shirts signed by the popular Serb.
All t-shirts will feature the UNICEF logo and will be sold beginning in May in adidas stores in Serbia and on Ivanovic's official website.
Ivanovic, who takes time out regularly from her schedule on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for charitable activities, was named a UNICEF National Ambassador to Serbia in September 2007. Her work with the organization specializes in child safety in schools.
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Gottfried to Guest Coach at Bollettieri Academy
Nick Bollettieri has enlisted another former pupil from his star studded alumni to join the coaching staff IMG Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida in the shape of Brian Gottfried.
The 57 year-old former world no.3 and 1977 French Open finalist will join Brad Gilbert as one of the academy’s guest coaches. He will spend one week per month at Bradenton working across the board with students and players of every level within the tennis program.
Bollettieri enthused: “"It is fantastic to have Brian back at the Academy. He was one of my first students, and his in-depth expertise of tennis will have a tremendous effect on every single one of our students. I can’t wait to work with Brian once again."
In addition the high respected trio of Pat Dougherty, Bob Davis and Ricardo Icaza will also bolster the NBTA coaching strength. Icaza, a former top 50 player who captained Ecuador's Davis Cup team for seven years, will oversee tournament scheduling and travel and will travel with NBTA students. Dougherty, respected for his skills in teaching and coaching the serve, will work with students on site in Bradenton. Davis will oversee the Academy's adult program.
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Ancic Speaks to Students at Harvard Law School
Newly graduated Croatian attorney Mario Ancic made a detour as he traveled between Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, speaking briefly to students at the prestigious Harvard Law School.
The 29th-ranked Croatian ranked received his own law degree back homo in Split last spring and has the skills in reserve for when he ends his career on court. He spoke on the business side of tennis, engaging mainly in Q&A with students.
"It was like playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon," Ancic told American media. "It's even more than I imagined it would be. I felt very privileged to walk the grounds and visit places like the Harvard Law School and the Harvard Business School."
Ancic began his legal studies on a part-time basis in 2002 and wrote a 63-page thesis on the legal side of the ATP.
"There were a lot of questions about tennis contracts, how the ATP operates, what benefits there are of being an ATP member, such as health insurance and a pension plan. I also talked about how I like to work closely with my agents when doing contracts," he said at the Harvard session.
Ancic was able to bear down on his degree during 2007 when he was sidelined with glandular fever and was able to study almost full-time at home as he recovered.
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Roddick is Very Popular in China
Andy Roddick has held off strong competition from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to be crowned Sina.com’s favorite male tennis player in China for 2008. Sina.com is China's No. 1 news website.
Last year Roddick donated $50,000 to the Chinese Tennis Association to be used for the reconstruction of tennis courts and facilities in the earthquake hit Sichuan province, and he has confirmed he will return to the 2009 China Open at the Beijing Olympic Tennis Center in October to defend his title. The ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament forms a part of the Asian swing, which culminates at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000.
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Petrova Knows How to Use a Hammer and She Does
Nadia Petrova is handy with a hammer, something she learned when as a kid she used to hang out with her father when he did maintenance work. And, as a representative for Habitat For Humanity, the Russian likes to put her skills to good use.
She has previously helped out with building houses in Romania, and this week she turned her attention to a project in Little Haiti in Miami. She assisted 33 Dartmouth students in installing windows and insulation in two triplexes that will house six Miami families.
While there, she drank Cuban coffee and signed autographs for the students, who gave up their week-long spring break to participate in the project which will take four to five months to complete."
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Montreal Tournament Director is Honored by Tourism Montreal
Courtesy of Tennis Canada
Eugene Lapierre, tournament director of Montreal’s Rogers Cup, was named the recipient of the 2009 Grand Ulysse Award.
The Grand Ulysse is the most prestigious of the Tourism Montreal awards and is given to a Montreal personality who by their career, body of work and craft, has contributed to the growing influence of the City of Montreal on an international scale.
Since taking over as tournament director in 2001, Rogers Cup has gained unprecedented international visibility, garnered strong profits, welcomed 1.4 million spectators and continues to set global attendance records for a one-week tournament. Lapierre was a leading force responsible for the construction of the 4,500-seat National Bank Court in 2004. Montreal became the only tournament outside the Grand Slams to sell tickets for a second show court.
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Seles is Using her Celebrity for Good Causes
She might not be playing tennis any longer, but Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is still very much around. She shows up now and then at tournaments, and recently she paid a visit with former New York Knicks shooting guard John Starks to the ‘I Challenge Myself’ project in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood. The former pros, both members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, presented the project with a check for $25,000 as part of the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation's support.
‘I Challenge Myself’ is a non-profit project using fitness-based challenges to help high school students from New York's low-income communities develop physical, academic and social skills. The project intends to curb obesity and related illnesses that are prevalent in low-income communities. Laureus granted the project the initial funding to begin its Cycling Smarts program in 2004.
"This is a terrific project and a great concept and I'm very pleased that Laureus is able to support it," Seles said. "It takes care of kids at an age when it is really important to get them off the streets and prevent them from getting involved in drugs and crime. This is where sport can be such a winner."
While in New York, Seles and Starks took part in one day of the program's self-confidence boosting training session. The goal is to drive students who had difficulty completing a five-minute sprint on the spin bike to complete their first one-day, 100-mile bike ride.
In addition to her work with the Laureus World Sports Academy, Seles' humanitarian efforts include work with the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM). As a Goodwill Ambassador and Spokesperson for its Global Sports for Peace and Development Program Initiative, Seles works to counter malnutrition, and work towards the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
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TENNIS SHORTS
Sharapova is in Miami, But Not to Play Tennis
She might not be able to play tennis these days, and she has still not set a date for her return, but there is still other business for Maria Sharapova to attend to. She isn’t on court at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, but she receives millions in sponsorship from the company so she is in town to meet and greet.
And on Wednesday Maria is due to make an appearance at the Cole Haan store in Coral Gables. Anyone showing up could enter a contest to win one of five prizes of tickets to the Sony Ericsson Open and a Cole Haan handbag.
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Austin, Courier, Kournikova and McEnroe to Hold Exhibition
Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin and Anna Kournikova, all former number 1 players, will compete in a “Legendary Night” to be held Saturday, May 2 at 7pm at the Turning Stone Event Center in Verona, New York to celebrate the opening of its tennis dome.
The legendary night of tennis will consist of a match between McEnroe and Courier in singles followed by a mixed doubles match of McEnroe and Austin against Courier and Kournikova.
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WTA SCHEDULED TO PLAY
Upcoming schedules as of March 23, 2009
1. Serena Williams - Miami, Marbella, Charleston
2. Dinara Safina - Miami
3. Jelena Jankovic - Miami, Marbella
4. Elena Dementieva - Miami
5. Vera Zvonareva - Miami, Charleston
6. Venus Williams - Miami, Charleston
7. Ana Ivanovic - Miami
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Miami
9. Nadia Petrova - Ponte Vedra Beach, Charleston
10. Victoria Azarenka - Miami, Charleston
11. Agnieszka Radwanska - Miami
12. Caroline Wozniacki - Miami, Ponte Vedra Beach, Charleston
13. Marion Bartoli - Miami, Charleston
14. Alize Cornet - Miami, Barcelona
15. Flavia Pennetta - Miami
16. Dominika Cibulkova - Miami, Charleston
17. Zheng Jie - Miami
18. Patty Schnyder - Miami, Ponte Vedra Beach, Charleston
19. Kaia Kanepi - Miami, Barcelona
20. Amelie Mauresmo - Miami, Marbella
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COVERS
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A Reminder to Our Readers
We wish to remind our readers that our all-day tennis newswire is available to all tennis fans.
Just go to www.tennisnews.com anytime throughout the day for the latest tennis news. We surf the internet all day and post links to stories in newspapers and electronic media around the world. “We surf the net so you don’t have to."
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SIGHTINGS
Send your player sightings to: cort@tennisnews.com
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APPEARING SOON
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MONEY MOUNTAIN
2009 Prize Money Earnings
MEN (March 23)
1 Nadal, Rafael
$2,182,160
2 Murray, Andy
953,937
3 Roddick, Andy
929,073
4 Federer, Roger
874,900
5 Djokovic, Novak
641,154
6 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried
412,004
7 Verdasco, Fernando
388,990
8 Almagro, Nicolas
382,457
9 Robredo, Tommy
381,705
10 Stepanek, Radek
370,258
WOMEN (March 23)
1
Williams, Serena
$1,666,697
2
Zvonareva, Vera
1,156,913
3
Safina, Dinara
814,278
4
Williams, Venus
562,822
5
Dementieva, Elena
494,508
6
Ivanovic, Ana
430,367
7
Azarenka, Victoria
419,797
8
Razzano, Virginie
245,004
9
Bartoli, Marion
217,142
10
Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia
195,322
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HE SAID... SHE SAID...
“Having been an executive at the ATP for eleven years, and now six years at the helm of the WTA, there is no question in my mind that both the men's tour and the women's tour would be stronger, and tennis would be stronger and compete better with other sports, if the tours merged for a variety of reasons.
“So I advocated for that and I campaigned for that. I had a chance to meet with the ATP board in December where I proposed it formally to them, and for a variety of reasons it wasn't accepted. It's clear that tennis, for whatever reasons, isn't ready for that vision to be realized.” - Larry Scott on his reasoning for leaving the helm of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
March
Mario Ancic
30
1984
Samantha Stosur
30
1984
April
Tommy Haas
3
1978
Sandy Mayer
5
1952
Johan Kriek
5
1958
Gene Mayer
11
1956
Alex Corretja
11
1974
Jelena Dokic
12
1983
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Bob Larson - Publisher
Cort Larson - Editor
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