ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge claims he has an obligation to provide opportunities for Kiwi players at New Zealand's premier tennis tournament, despite another year of poor results.
All five New Zealanders crashed out of the women's tournament at the earliest stage this year, with Erin Routliffe losing infirst round of singles qualifying, while Paige Hourigan and Valentina Ivanov were straight-set victims after being granted wildcards into the first round of the main singles draw.
Hourigan, the Kiwi No1, was the most overwhelmed — crushed 6-1 6-0 by former world No1 Caroline Wozniacki, winning a measly 14 points — while Hourigan and Routliffe also lost in the doubles first round with their respective partners.
No Kiwi woman has beaten an overseas player in singles at the classic — in the main draw or qualifying — since Marina Erakovic in 2016, but Budge still believes handing out wildcards to New Zealand players is the right thing to do.
"I'm really proud of the girls, I think they've equipped themselves well this week, there's been some really good improvement over the last 12 months, and if we can keep doing that then it spells much better things for tennis in New Zealand. If we want the sport to succeed, we've all got a role to play in that."
It was Hourigan's lopsided defeat which drew the most criticism, but Budge argued in the absence of other alluring options, giving Kiwis the opportunity to play on the world stage is the best approach to take.
"I always have the line in the sand — will they play centre court? And if they're not, are they really adding a significant amount to the tournament? In this scenario, for us it was about going 'Now we have an opportunity to help, so let's do that'."
