In promoting this week's du Maurier women's tennis
tournament in Toronto, Tennis Canada decided to promote "not
just the athleticism of the sport, but the personalities and
rivalries behind it," according to Tony Wong of the TORONTO
STAR, who wrote that with an "increasingly competitive
women's game, interest has never been hotter." Tennis
Canada Dir of Marketing Scott McPherson: "The idea is that
even if you're not a tennis fan, this is a chance to see
celebrities up close. The other side of it is that, yes,
they're great athletes, but they're also beautiful women,
and no one's making any apologies for that." Ticket sales
for this week's event are up 20% over last year and Tennis
Canada expects to top last year's record attendance of
119,688. One ad for the event features a photo of Anna
Kournikova (who has since dropped out) with the headline,
"Number One." But smaller print underneath reads, "In
Internet Web sites." Another spot shows some of the
circuit's top players giving "bruising stares to their
adversaries" and reads, "Love? I don't think so." While
this is du Maurier's final year as event title sponsor,
Tennis Canada VP/Corporate Sales & Marketing Stacey Allaster
said the new title sponsor will have to pay between C$1.5-2M
annually for title rights. Allaster will be "talking
seriously to potential candidates in the fall" (TORONTO
STAR, 8/15). Meanwhile, Steffi Graf's retirement "came as a
surprise" to tournament organizers. Tournament Dir Jane
Wynne: "It came as a bit of a shock because I'd talked to
her agent at Advantage ... this week and it seemed she was
okay" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 8/14)
THE GRAF-TERMATH: BRIDGE NEWS' Jennifer Allen reported
that adidas "does not want" retired Steffi Graf to "end
their relationship and hopes that she will continue to work
with the company in some role." Fantastic Sports Senior VP
John Lewicki: "I think Steffi in the endorsement world will
still be a player ... if that's what she wants." But now
that Graf is retired, Nike U.S. Dir of Tennis Mike Nakajima
said, "Everyone's looking for the next great player.
Lindsay [Davenport] is the person we would bet on" (BRIDGE
NEWS, 8/13). In St. Pete, Darrell Fry writes that if the
WTA Tour "is going to continue its upward spiral, it's going
to need more Grafs" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 8/16).
