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THE
SCOOP: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25
Serena,
Venus, Jennifer to skip Indian Wells
By
Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net
It's
the West Coast's Grand Slam – a Tier 1 WTA tournament and
is one of the sweetest venues in tennis – but America's top
three female draws will skip the newly named Pacific Life Open
at Indian Wells March 6-17.
This
leaves the women's side of the tournament without a marquee American.
However, showstoppers Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Kim Clijsters
and Justine Henin are scheduled to play.
The Williams sisters reasons for not playing are obvious, although
neither woman would state her reason at press time. Last year,
Venus and Serena were harshly booed after Venus pulled out of
her semi against Serena with an injury just moments before it
began. The lengthy, hostile reception the sisters received during
the final was called "unfair" by both players and brought
Serena to tears. Even though Serena won the event, she was clearly
affected by the crowd and said last year that she might never
come back to the locale, which is just two hours from where she
grew up.
"I
really don't know what went on," Capriati said. "But
you should give everyone the benefit of the doubt. That was a
little harsh, the crowd booing her."
CAPRIATI
MAY HAVE BAD MEMORIES
Capriati
also is no fan of the desert, having lived there for a year during
her dark period when she was burned out and off the tour. While
there, she dated a rebellious high school basketball player and
the relationship reportedly ended badly. While a source in the
Capriati camp says that Jennifer is no longer affected by the
experience, Capriati said, "There's more reasons behind this
than I wish to comment on right now. You never know. I can't say
that I won't ever play there. I should keep my options open. But
for the time being, I don't have any plans on going out there."
The Floridian will play Scottsdale the week before Indian Wells
and wants a week off before having to play Key Biscayne. "Schedulewise,
it's never been the best time for me," she said. "To
stay in this game and be happy playing, I've got to do what I
want to do. I can't just start compromising my time. I figure
that if I can play well enough in these other tournaments, I will
make up the points. [Key Biscayne] is more important for me because
it's in my hometown. Coming from Indian Wells, the time change,
adjusting to the climate, the way the balls fly, it's just more
difficult."
NOT ENOUGH TOP-RANKED PLAYERS
The Sanex WTA Tour is obligated to provide Tier I tournaments
with two out of the top four players and because Lindsay Davenport
is injured (and is likely out until mid-July), and No. 1 Williams
and No. 2 Capriati have refused to play, the tour must pay the
tournament $72,000 in retribution, which comes from the player's
bonus pool. However, unlike with the ATP Tour, attendance at Tier
I women's tournaments is not compulsory.
WTA spokesman Chris De Maria said the tour is looking at ways
it can ensure strong fields. He added that the tour does lobby
players when a field such as Indian Wells has been depleted. "The
players these days are just going to do whatever they want to
do," Capriati said. "It's just too tough of a sport.
It's not their fault. It's just the nature of the game. They should
just be happy that at least we're continually play year round.
Not being able to play in every tournament, that's something that
they'll have to accept."
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