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)