TeamTennis : Strings Fail to Pull In Many Fans, Lose Opener, 26-25

They tried drawing card No. 1: Argentine Gabriela Sabatini, 15, was supposed to play. But TeamTennis Commissioner Billie Jean King declared Sabatini ineligible because she scheduled another match during the league’s one-month regular season.

Enter drawing card No. 2: Anne White, of Wimbledon white-bodysuit fame. The only problem was that White didn’t wear it.

Drawing Card No. 3 could have been actor-turned-tennis-player Vince Van Patten, who plays for the Los Angeles Strings. After that, even a phone call to Boris Becker in Monaco might have been attempted.

None of the drawing cards worked. Before an announced crowd of 1,030 Thursday night, the Miami Beach Breakers defeated the Strings, 26-25.

Only about 150 people remained at the Forum for the final match, a 13-point super-tiebreaker that is used when the score is tied after five sets. Miami’s Van Winitsky and Yvonne Vermaak defeated the Los Angeles pair of Ross Case and White, 7-5, to win the match.

TeamTennis is assured a break-even point in Los Angeles, according to String owner Jeanie Buss.

“With the Senate seats (2,000 seats that are sold to every Forum event) and the other guarantees that I have, we can’t lose money,” she said. “The only problem that I have is why these people aren’t coming out to see the match.”

The Strings led until the final set of mixed doubles. Winitsky and Vermaak won the last set over Case and White, 6-4, to force the overtime.

The Breakers’ duo of Vermaak and Winitsky won the next game over Case and White and forced the super-tiebreaker.

The Breakers had to replace half their team this week. Sabatini, Mercedes Paz and Coach Patricio Apey were all removed. This occurred because the ousted members, all from Argentina, came to the Breakers in a package deal. The three were replaced by Ilana Kloss, the player coach, and Vermaak.

TeamTennis is back with a one-month regular season and eight teams. This year’s version is sponsored by Domino’s Pizza and is low-budget. Called “new and improved” by King, there are no top names playing, and the co-ed concept is stressed.

The total prize money for the season is only $400,000, and there are no salaries for the players. The players earn money on a performance system, with the No. 1 player in percentage of games won receiving the most and so on.