Tennis: Tighter controls make top players elusive

By DAVID LEGGAT

A toughening of contractual obligations for the world's top women players is making life difficult for organisers of January's Auckland international event.

The Women's Tennis Association is taking a harder line on players fulfilling their obligations to contest a certain number of tournaments in different categories each year.

As a result, ASB Classic tournament director Richard Palmer conceded it was becoming harder to attract higher-calibre players for the US$140,000 ($201,000) Tier 4 event starting on January 3.

Harder, but not impossible, and Palmer remains confident the classic will have an attractive, quality look.

Women's tennis has two classifications, gold (top 20 players) and silver (about 20 to 50) exempt, and there are a certain number of Tier 1, 2 and 3 events they must play.

Tier 3 events - such as the Gold Coast hardcourt championships, which clash directly with Auckland - have a purse of US$170,000 and are guaranteed either one top-10 player or three in the 10-20 bracket.

"So some players will figure they can play at the Gold Coast and get one of their Tier 3 commitments out of the way at the start of the year," Palmer said.

"It used to be loose, but now the fines are more significant. They are quite hefty and the rules are being enforced much more rigorously."

The only guarantee for Tier 4 event organisers is that WTA will make "best efforts" to have two players in the top 50 in their field.

Palmer knows the chances of attracting a stellar name, such as Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport or Justine Henin-Hardenne, to Auckland are negligible.

The Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament in Perth and a Hong Kong exhibition event on at the same time as Auckland draw the biggest names.

But he's confident the overall standard of next year's classic will be high. "The WTA has a road map of where it wants to be by 2010. That will include some rejigging of the calendar, although that's not expected to greatly affect us.

"But in the longer term it's going to make it more difficult for us to attract the top end of the echelon. Next year we'll still have very good tennis and a really solid field," Palmer said, adding he'll be "very disappointed" if six to eight players between 20 and 50 are not in the final draw.

Greek Eleni Daniilidou, the world No 34, has confirmed she is returning in a bid to become the first player since the tournament was relaunched 20 years ago to win the title three times, after her wins in 2003 and this year.

Palmer has also all but confirmed world No 49 and 50 players, Kristina Brandi of Puerto Rico and Maria Vento-Kabchi, for next year's classic.

It is highly unlikely Daniilidou will be top seed in January. It is expected at least two, maybe three players, on the cusp of the world top 20 will be signed up this month.

In the past 19 years of the event, when it resumed after a five-year break, only one top-10 player has appeared in Auckland - German Anke Huber in 1997. This year's top seed was then world No 14, Paola Suarez of Argentina.