WTA cites security concerns in canceling RI events

JAKARTA (JP): The WTA Tour has dropped the Wismilak Open tournaments in Surabaya and Jakarta from its calendar this year due to security concerns.

Operations manager of the women's professional tennis circuit governing body, Linda Christensen, said in a July 17 faxed letter to the Indonesian Tennis Association that the decision was made after an inspection of the cities.

"The Tour recently conducted security risk checks for the cities of Surabaya and Jakarta. Given the strong chance that Indonesia will become more volatile and the possibility for further violent unrest in Surabaya and Jakarta later in the year, it is not in the best interests of the Tour players or officials to travel to these cities at this time," Christensen said.

"Therefore, based on these results, both tournaments have been canceled for 1998."

The tier-three tournament in Surabaya, which offered a purse of US$147,000, was scheduled for Sep. 28 - Oct. 4. The Jakarta open, a tier-four event with $107,000 on offer, was slated on Nov. 9 - Nov. 15.

Riots shook several Indonesian cities in the wake of student movements that culminated in the ouster of former president Soeharto in May. Random acts of looting and seizure of goods and property continue to be widespread problems.

Security worries have also been blamed for disrupting other sports events in the country. The Indonesian Open badminton championships has been moved back from August to November, while the soccer league was prematurely halted in May.

In response to the WTA Tour's decision, deputy secretary- general of the Indonesian Tennis Association Subiyanto said the association would ask for further explanation from Surabaya-based cigarette company Wismilak, the events' main sponsor.

"The WTA Tour has never tried to get information from us about the situation in Jakarta," Subiyanto said yesterday. "It's too bad to cancel both tournaments just because of security reasons."

Local players Mimma Chernovita, Irawati Moerid Iskandar, Wynne Prakusya, Enny Sulistyowati, Liza Andriyani and Cynthia Dwi were expected to play in both tournaments.

Dominique van Roost of Belgium won the singles event at last year's tournament in Surabaya. The duo of Kerry-Anne Guse of Australia and Rika Hiraki of Japan won the doubles.

This year's tournament in Jakarta was to serve as a replacement for the Indonesian Women's Open which in the past was sponsored by Bank Danamon. Wismilak has sponsored the Surabaya event for the past four years. (yan)