RI pins hopes on Kournikova to lure tourists to Bali

Agence France-Presse, Sydney, Australia

Indonesian tennis officials will ask glamorous Russian star Anna Kournikova to play a tournament on Bali as part of efforts to lure tourists back to the island following last year's terrorist attack, it was reported here on Wednesday.

Wismilak International tournament organizer Annie Livesey told the Australian Associated Press that Kournikova had been made a lucrative offer to play in the WTA tour event at the Balinese resort of Nusa Dua in September.

Livesey said Kournikova had been approached after her agent expressed an interest in the event but had not received a response.

The Indonesian government and Balinese business community supported the move, which would help lift the "doom and gloom" surrounding Bali following the Oct. 12, 2002 attacks, she said.

"What we are trying to do, as this is one of the biggest sports events in Indonesia, is send a message to the world to say, 'here, listen, Bali is still on the map and it's still in business'," she said, speaking from Malaysia.

WTA tour supervisor Pam Whytcross said that while she had no knowledge of the offer, Kournikova's appearance would be a coup for the organizers.

The WTA guarantees one top-10 player or three top-20 players will play at the Bali tournament but organizers could forego that criteria in preference for the high-profile Russian, ranked 38 in the world.

Bali's tourism industry was devastated by the attack on a nightclub in the popular Kuta district which killed more than 190 people, mostly foreigners.