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DOES THE WTA TOUR ONLY WANT TO "TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY?"

          While the WTA Tour "is still without" a title sponsor
     for next year, CEO Bart McGuire said he hopes to have the
     situation resolved "by the end of the year," according to
     Wayne Coffey of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS, who writes the Tour is
     looking for a deal worth $8M per year.  McGuire: "Nobody has
     put the money on the table yet.  I wish they had."  McGuire
     said that six companies are studying the entitlement. 
     Meanwhile, attendance for the seven-day Chase Championships
     was 85,304, up 8% from last year (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/23).
          SEX SELLS: In N.Y., Robin Finn examined the WTA Tour's
     "glamour" girls, and wrote that while Martina Hingis, Venus
     Williams and Anna Kournikova "still list 'tennis star' as
     their primary occupation," they want to be "rock stars,
     fashion stars, movie stars."  The WTA wants the sport "to
     raise its hemlines to project a more glamorous image" and
     wants to take "advantage of the blurring of sports and
     entertainment."  Booz-Allen & Hamilton Media & Entertainment
     Dir Michael Wolf: "Tennis has become very smart about
     marketing its stars. ... They're attending the music awards,
     getting photographed at the right parties, and selling
     everything from makeup to computers."  Finn wrote the WTA is
     now selling "sex appeal" to an "overcrowded marketplace." 
     WTA Tour CEO Bart McGuire: "We are not involved in
     sexploitation. ... The truth is what we're competing for the
     public's entertainment dollar, and to get it, we've got to
     give them an entertaining product.  I realize that can be
     done tastefully or distastefully.  I don't see us crossing
     any lines."  IMG's Jeff Schwartz: "I don't think this is
     selling out.  I think it's staying current."  Martina
     Navratilova: "I don't know why they have the women dolled up
     in these skin-tight outfits.  I mean, if that's what they
     really think it takes to attract an audience, why not just
     send them out there naked?"  Monica Seles said, "As long as
     women's tennis doesn't become all about who's wearing the
     shortest skirt and the wildest color panties,  I'm OK with
     it.  But this isn't Hollywood" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/22). 

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