Navratilova to meet Yayuk in farewell match
Navratilova to meet Yayuk in farewell match
JAKARTA (JP): Former world number one Martina Navratilova has
decided to include Indonesia as one stop on her world farewell
tour. The tour will take Navratilova to five continents and the
honor, and match, here have been given to Yayuk Basuki.
"It was Navratilova's choice to play Yayuk here," Eddy
Katimansah, secretary general of the Indonesian Tennis
Association (Pelti) said during a press conference yesterday.
The exhibition match on Jan. 4 next year will likely
overshadow the US$161,000 Indonesia Women's Open which is
scheduled for Jan. 2-8. World number 29 Yayuk is one of the
seeded players in contention for the title in the country's
richest women's tennis tournament organized by Pelti and the
Australian Tennis Association.
"It is an exception which has been approved by the world
Women's Tennis Council (WTC). Yayuk has formally agreed to this
program," was Eddy's explanation as to whether the exhibition
match would violate the rules set by the women's tennis body WTA.
Navratilova was elected the president of WTC last year.
She made her first appearance here four years ago in an
exhibition match against her predecessor Chris Evert.
Eddy refused to disclose the amount of the appearance money
for both the Czech-born American and Indonesia's tennis queen,
who will meet for the fourth time.
"An underwriter company will be responsible for that," said
Eddy. The company will also be responsible for any unforeseen
losses if Navratilova fails to make her trip here.
The exhibition match is officially entitled Danamon
Navratilova Farewell Tour.
"The match won't be just a friendly one," Eddy said. Yayuk is
looking forward to taking her revenge on the 38-year-old tennis
great who beat her in each of their four encounters. Argentinian
Gabriela Sabatini, who played Yayuk in an exhibition here last
month, was the last to spoil Navratilova's farewell party when
they met in the lucrative Virginia Slims Championships in New
York recently.
World number eight Navratilova is scheduled to arrive here on
Jan. 3, after her trip to Hong Kong for another farewell tour.
Tennis party
The exhibition match is one of the three programs in the two-
week tennis party held in conjunction with Indonesia's 50th
anniversary celebration. The US$313,000 Indonesia Men's Open will
start just after the women's tournament.
Eddy said the women's championships, which outclasses the same
event held last year, will replace a tournament in Brisbane which
used to serve as a warm-up for the Australia Open, the first
Grand Slam tournament in world tennis annual calendar.
"Australia has agreed to bring the tournament here for five
successive years," said Eddy. He, however, refused to comment on
how much the transfer costs were.
Having a rich tournament played in Senayan tennis indoor
stadium, Indonesia will lose its right to organize the $100,000
WTA-sanctioned event next year. Yayuk triumphed in all three
editions of the tier IV championships since 1991.
"Australia and the world tennis body (ITF) are helping us to
regain the right in 1996," said Eddy. Another $100,000-class
tournament was held in Surabaya, East Java early this month, but
Eddy said it was just an event transferred from Hong Kong.
German world number 19 Sabine Hack was the only world top 20
players who has confirmed an entry to the 56-field Indonesia
Women's Open. "We have also invited Natalia Zvereva of Belarus,
American Mary Joe Fernandez and another German, Anke Huber," said
Eddy. (amd)