Wimbledon Scheduling Under Fire From Top Female Players
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Serena Questions Wimbledon's
Scheduling Of Top Female Players |
Wimbledon's scheduling yesterday "came under fire from several top female players, who felt their placement on outside show courts disrespected their status," according to Douglas Robson of USA TODAY. Sony Ericsson WTA Tour player Serena Williams, who won yesterday on Court 2, said, "Initially I thought, 'OK, is this the right schedule?'" WTA player Jelena Jankovic, who lost her match on Court 18, said, "I was almost playing in the parking lot." Wimbledon spokesperson Johnny Perkins said that tournament referee Andrew Jarrett must "satisfy a 'complex jigsaw' of concerns when he puts together each day's schedule. That means taking into account and balancing the needs of players, the paying public and broadcasters, along with other issues such as safety, local British players and so on." Wimbledon also has a "28-point policy for how it decides what players are scheduled where." WTA player Bethanie Mattek, who lost to Serena Williams on Court 2, a "smaller show court that seats about 2,200," said that scheduling Venus Williams there was "'shocking' and that putting Jankovic on Court 18, with 782 seats, was 'bonkers'" (USA TODAY, 7/1). Serena Williams said of Venus, who has won Wimbledon four times, playing on Court 2, "I do think it's weird -- especially having a female champ who has won this tournament four times." In DC, Liz Clarke notes Court 2 "ranks a distant third among the All England club's venues in seating capacity and prestige." Meanwhile, ATP Tour player Roger Federer yesterday "continued his five-year streak of appearing only" on the 15,000-seat Centre Court or the 11,393-seat Court 1. Oracene Price, the Williams' mother, "seemed stunned when informed that Federer ... had not played a match on Court 2 since 2003," as Venus Williams has played eight matches there in that time frame. Price was "equally dismayed by Jankovic's treatment." Price: "She's number two in the world, and then they 'dis' her like that? That's sort of disrespect" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/1). Jankovic said that the two top seeds "should always be scheduled on one of the two top show courts because they have earned it by their ranking" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 7/1). Venus Williams "clearly felt that the All England Club's order of play committee would not have scheduled the men's defending champion" on Court 2. In London, Mark Hodgkinson writes, "And she is right; there is little chance of Roger Federer ever playing on anything other than Centre Court or Court No 1" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/1).
HURTING THEIR CAUSE: In London, Matt Dickinson writes some "empty seats when Venus began proceedings yesterday did not do much for her argument that the women bring as much to the table as the men." Dickinson: "And while there is no doubting the individual appeal of [Venus and Serena], there may be groans among the hierarchy now that the sisters appear to be on collision course for the final on Saturday." But the "good news is that the Williams sisters are back on the show courts today," with Serena on Centre Court and Venus on Court 1 (LONDON TIMES, 7/1). In Manchester, Paul Weaver writes this "truly is the open era" for women's tennis, as the top four seeds all have been eliminated before the quarterfinals. Weaver: "The trouble with women's tennis at the moment is that it is very good at selling itself -- until it gets on court" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 7/1). In a special to the Manchester GUARDIAN, Tennis HOFer Tracy Austin writes, "The bottom line is that this is a thin time at the top of women's tennis" (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 7/1).
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