Business Bits: State of the WTA Union

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Business Bits: State of the WTA Union

By Nicholas McCarvel

Ballkids at the 2012 Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria

(October 23, 2012)

The Kids Are All Right. Or… Are They? Much has been made about the USTA meeting regarding junior tennis at the grassroots level all the way up to he/she-who-is-the-future-of-American-prowess over the last week, with the powers that be meeting over the weekend in Chicago, as Tennis Now contributor Chris Oddo laid out in USA Today. The panel’s decision? Let’s not make a decision… yet. A series of town hall meetings and industry gathering will help sculpt any major changes that the USTA will implement. Sounds like stalling? Or perhaps they’re just taking their time—really. And while Patrick McEnroe, the general manager of the player development program, continues to take heat in his post, his brother (that’d be John McEnroe), believes tennis must do something to get better young American athletes to flock to it. Because, according to Johnny Mac, they ain’t: “The bottom line is that, in other countries, their best athletes are playing tennis. I think Djokovic and Nadal would be great at whatever they chose to do, and they chose to play tennis.” Remember, John has his own tennis academy to worry about, too. It’s a business, this game.

Clay Me, Maybe: Or clay them, definitely. Here are two odd commitments for the 2013 season: Rafael Nadal will play in the Mexican Open, which is held in February… on clay! And Serena Williams? She’s headed to Bastad, Sweden, to play on the red stuff… after Wimbledon! Don’t scratch your heads too hard: it’s all about the entrance fees. Though one has to wonder about these choices for Rafa (who needs to limit his schedule to stay healthy) and Serena (who plays the Slams and few other events).

But it was a doubly good news week for tennis in Sweden (when was the last time we said that? Miss you, Robin Soderling!) as the nation’s tennis federation announced a three-year deal with clothing giant H&M, which is based there. The deal with H&M, which will sponsor the Bastad men’s and women’s event as well as the Stockholm Open, held in the fall, is seen to have been a major player in getting Serena to commit to Bastad. Move over, Uniqlo! There’s another trendy global clothing brand on the tennis circuit now.

WTF for the WTA? No, not quite. The WTA seems like its doing just fine, thank you very much, according to its CEO Stacey Allaster who sat down to talk shop with one of tennis’ foremost writers, Chris Clarey of the New York Times. Questions on the table: Will Istanbul renew their bid for the WTA Championships? (No.) What’s the deal with the lack of a title sponsor? (They’re working on one or two regional partnerships for 2013.) But… “regional?” (Blame the Olympics. And the economy.) Will prize money be slashed? (Nope. It’s going up!) What’s the deal with Gilles Simon and Janko Tipsarevic? (Who cares! Viva Serena!) On a more serious (and cute) note, Allaster said she only likes to travel 150 days a year, but said she has been “gone more this year, no question,” leaving her two kids at home while away.

Speaking of the NYT (which, full disclosure, I write for now and then), they have full coverage of Istanbul, with Mr. Be Everywhere Ben Rothenberg on the ground tweeting and writing up a storm on their tennis blog, Straight Sets.

There’s No Hope With Dope: Dope-ing, that is. Lance Armstrong has learned such a thing this past week, with many sports looking into the are-we-next crystal ball as America’s premiere cyclist was stripped of his Tour de France titles because of USADA’s doping case against him. Doug Robson of USA Today did a bang up job reporting out a piece on just how tennis is doing (Overall Verdict: OK. Mostly… OK) with its doping programs. The peg was Armstrong of course, but more intimately a doctor that had been connected to Team Lance who has also worked with suddenly sizzling Sara Errani, currently at her first-ever WTA Championships. Errani has addressed her connection with the doc before, but Robson dove into how tennis tests, when and -- perhaps most importantly -- how often. And for you Saved By the Bell fans out there: Yes, the entry line to this graph was a pull from that ever-influential ad Zach and the gang made. Relive it here!)

Itty bits: Look! The stars of the WTA play dress-up! And there’s video, too. | Serena and Maria Sharapova on Australian Open prize money: we’re headed in the right direction. Serena and Maria on X-rated dirty talk? Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves. | Ana Ivanovic’s plan for the off season? Go home. Eat. On her weight: “I don’t feel that I’ve seriously lost weight.” | Nadal y futbol! Un dia de divertido! | Is Roger Federer running for political office? The dude tours a Jura coffee headquarters, but then reminds us that, no, he’s just a global superstar when he appears in another Lindt chocolate ad, this one complete with admiring fans… and a giant bear (that sadly didn’t come to life in the ad, like we hoped…). | Tennis in Egypt? It’s big business, according to one insider. | So long, Alexander Waske. The German who reached a career high of No. 89 in singles and No. 16 in doubles is calling it quits. But his real accomplishment: Tommy Haas hugged him! Color us jealous. | OK, can anyone reveal more about these CRAZY scooping devices that the ball kids were using in Vienna last week? We’re obsessed.

(Screengrab via YouTube)