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).