As many as 60 WTA Tour players "signed a petition
authorizing" the WTA Tour to "demand equal prize money with
the men at all four Grand Slam championships," according to
Neil Amdur of the N.Y. TIMES. The players said that "they
are prepared to vote to boycott" Wimbledon, the Australian
and French Opens if they are not offered equal prize money.
WTA Tour CEO Bart McGuire: "This is a top priority" (N.Y.
TIMES, 4/10). Monica Seles, who signed the petition: "I do
support Bart McGuire's initiative to get equal prize money,
but I don't want to make a big deal of it. I don't know
anything about the boycott" (Doug Smith, USA TODAY, 4/12).
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT? In Jacksonville, Gene Frenette
wrote that while the WTA Tour "has developed a star base
that, for now, seems to have a better identity with the
public," many "question whether the WTA's public relations
approach is working." Frenette noted that "at tournament
stops, complaints are mounting that players do little beyond
the bare minimum to promote the game," and Anna Kournikova
"is often a target of criticism." WTA Board of Directors
member Bob Arrix said that while the tour "has to step up
and do a lot more than they're doing. ... a lot of [players]
aren't doing enough." Kournikova's agent Phil de Picciotto
of Advantage Int'l: "Have we been limiting her access?
Absolutely. Media people in Russia are incensed with me
that I'm not granting their requests. We all need to work
together to promote the game. At the same time, it's unfair
to teenagers ... to ask them to carry the flag for their
sport" (FLORIDA TIMES UNION, 4/11).
