THE
SCOOP: WEDNESDAY, MAY 15
Atlanta
loses second tour stop in five years
Jennifer,
Goran win Laureus awards
By
Ron Cioffi
tennisreporters.net
Ron
Cioffi/
tr.net
Andy
Roddick celebrates his victory at Atlanta's ATP stop
in '01.
|
Atlanta,
touted as the most active recreational tennis city in the
world, has lost its ATP tournament due to the lack of a title
sponsor.
The
Atlanta Tennis Challenge was sold by Clear Channel Entertainment.
The tour stop will move to Buenos Aires.
Clear
Channel Entertainment representatives, which sold the tournament,
said the fan interest was strong but the lack of a sponsor
for the third straight year killed the event.
The
loss of the tournament has tennis fans in Atlanta scratching
their heads. Only five years ago the U.S. Women's Hardcourt
Championships pulled out of the Deep South's largest metro
area.
Additionally,
Atlanta is the home of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association
(ALTA), known as the largest local tennis association in the
world. Fueled by booming growth, ALTA has more than 80,000
members, most of whom play in year-round leagues. Many players
live in thousands of "swim and tennis" subdivisions
and have quick and convenient access to courts.
The
tournament began in 1985 in the indoor Omni sports arena and
then made its home in the suburbs as the AT&T Challenge.
Andy Roddick scored his first tour victory on the tournament's
green clay courts last year. The tour stop was one of the
few remaining U.S. clay court tournaments and allowed Americans
to prepare for Roland Garros without traveling to Europe.
Rumors
that the tournament would stay in Atlanta but be moved to
August at Lincoln Tennis Center at Stone Mountain – the
site of the '96 Olympics – had been circulating since
last summer.
Jennifer,
Goran win Laureus awards
French
and Australian Open tennis champion Jennifer Capriati was
voted the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year at the third
annual Laureus World Sports Awards in Monte Carlo this week.
Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic won the Laureus World Comeback
of the Year award.
Capriati
won the award over compatriot Venus Williams, record-breaking
pole-vaulter Stacy Dragila, multiple world champion Dutch
swimmer Inge de Bruijn and Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam.
The 30-year-old Ivanisevic took the award for capturing his
first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last year after dropping
two finals at the All England Club.
The
2002 Laureus World Sports Awards are the only worldwide and
cross-sectional awards ceremony to honor the world's best
sportsmen and women.
