WTA looking to change current ranking system
WTA looking to change current ranking system
JAKARTA (JP): The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is
considering changing the current ranking system in order to
encourage big names to play in small tournaments.
Marianne Werdel Witmeyer, the new president of the WTA Tour
Players association, said yesterday at the Senayan tennis complex
that elite players usually refuse to enter small tournaments
because it will jeopardize their rankings.
According to the current rules, top players will drop a
considerable amount of ranking points if they fail to win titles
in low-rated tournaments they participate in. It is this rule
that Werdel Witmeyer is considering changing.
Werdel Witmeyer, who replaced Martina Navratilova in September
last year, is here for the Danamon Indonesia Women's Open
championships, now underway until Sunday. The president, who
serves for one year, represents players in all WTA tours.
As for the week-long tournament here, the new president,
herself an active player ranked 43 in the world, said that the
"difficult time" has resulted in none of the world's top 10
players taking part.
"Right now we have two tournaments in the United States, and
others in Europe are about to start," she said.
"Besides, the weather here is too hot while for next week's
Japan Open tournament, it will be cold," she added.
Werdel Witmeyer admitted that she was disappointed with the
absence of players ranked among the top 10 here, although the
organizers were prepared to provide luxurious facilities.
The annual Indonesia Women's Open moved up from a tier-three
to tier-four tournament last year, as the country celebrated its
golden anniversary. Last year's championships took place in
January and served as a warm-up for the Australian Open.
The 29-year-old president, however, confirmed that Indonesia
will have to return the rights to host a tier-four tournament to
Australia.
She suggested that Indonesia hold its own tier-four
tournaments for the benefit of local players.
"Having a tier-four tournament here will give chances for
Asian players from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and others, to
participate and improve their rankings," she said.
Werdel Witmeyer also gave a special recipe to Indonesia on how
to attract bigger crowds to come to the tennis stadium.
"You can invite one of the top ten players to come here to
give clinics and short course to juniors. But you have to provide
extra money," she said. (05)