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FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 6
Emediastar
president agrees with terrorism story
Dear
Sandra,
I have reviewed your tennis website with much interest and wish
your organization well in its endeavors. Your recent columns referencing
the lack of tact in which tennis simply moved ahead with tournaments
(even as the offices of several tour and event sponsors smoldered
in ruins) struck a chord with everyone here. It was the usual
tennis method of "everyone for themselves" manifested
in its most ugly form.
At APSC/Emediastar we have partnered with professional players
and coaches in an attempt to publicize and promote players beyond
Kournikova, Agassi, and whoever happens to be in the top three
of both tours. We also promote the game through junior and open
tournaments in the Los Angeles area, with the full support and
in many cases volunteer efforts of many of our professional tennis
clients.
Living in LA and as an avid Lakers fan, I have heard Lakers broadcaster
Chick Hearn many times accentuate the positives of individual
players on a lesser ranked team before an inevitable Lakers mis-match.
In tennis, we have John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, etc… belittling
the efforts and joking at the records and techniques of the unlucky
opponent of the superstar playing in the featured match of the
day (Koulikovskaya at the US Open, Mandula at the French Open,
etc.. etc…) . If the announcers do not see the match as worth
watching, why should the public?
I reference your column: Why
Did Our Sport Play? tennisreporters.net has
already noted how disappointed we were to see that tennis was
the sole sport in the world that seemed to continue during the
week of the horrendous acts of terrorism ‘this certainly
doesn’t send the world a very positive picture of our sport.
In this reporters‚ opinion, it certainly would have appeared
a prudent decision for the Davis Cup to be put aside for this
year as golf postponed the Ryder Cup since it simply feels inappropriate
for a battle between countries, even a friendly battle on the
level of sports, to be taking place."
Sadly, there should be no surprise that even though the showcase
US Open event finished in NYC only days earlier, tennis would
ignore the rest of organized sports and continue on with the business
of tournaments. Tournaments with no top stars which are designed
for nothing more than a venue to collect percentages from the
checks of the faceless thousands of players who will in all reality
never win a tournament, but whose meager earnings pay the salaries,
appearance fees and first class air-tickets of the star players
and tour officials.
Until professional tennis cuts its schedule, forces its top 40
players to play each and every tier one and grand slam event,
it will continue to be viewed with apathy from the public, and
present no real value to the corporate marketing world. I believe
that tennis must move away from the subsidy of manufacturers and
players earning percentages, and include the public in its marketing
structure.
Thank you and your organization for having the courage to say
what should be said.
Sincerely,
Luanne Rosette, President
APSC/Emediastar
www.emediastar.com
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