Yayuk signs contract with American company

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's top women's tennis player Yayuk Basuki yesterday signed a two-year deal with Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods.

The contract, Yayuk said, was part of her annual, US$200,000 contract with the Hong Kong-based Spectrum which manages Yayuk's schedule. The Indonesian signed a three-year deal with Spectrum last year.

Yayuk, currently ranked number 28 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association, chose not to disclose the terms of the new contract.

Mohan Pothera, Wilson's director for Asia-Pacific, when pressed by reporters to reveal the amount, reluctantly replied, "More than $10,000."

Mohan said his company was interested in Yayuk because "she has shown a stable performance after using the rackets produced by our company."

Mohan added Wilson will launch a racket to be named "Hammer 5.2" with Yayuk's signature on it.

Yayuk becomes the second non-Japanese Asian tennis player to sign on with the American company. Previously, Wilson had agreed to a similar contract with Taiwanese number one Wang Shi-ting.

Yayuk was formerly bound by a contract with Japan-based sports equipment manufacturer, Yonex. (arf)