Zvereva Criticizes Soviet Method of Distributing Funds to Tennis Players

The apparent far-reaching changes in the Soviet Union found their way to the tennis courts Sunday when teen-age tennis star Natalia Zvereva sent a strong message to her country’s sports federation.

After losing to West Germany’s Steffi Graf in the final of the Family Circle Magazine Cup tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C., Zvereva of Minsk told a national television audience and court crowd that she was unhappy with her country’s system of distributing money to tennis players.

Soviets must turn over all earnings to their federation, which then doles out a stipend for living expenses.

Zvereva, who will turn 18 on April 16, won $24,000 for finishing second in the tournament. She lost to Graf, 6-1, 6-1, in the final. During the awards ceremony afterward, she was interviewed on the court by Bud Collins, an NBC tennis commentator.

Collins asked her what made Graf so difficult to play against.

“Oh, God,” she said, as the crowd laughed.

When Collins asked Zvereva about her progress, she said she was happy with her play, but is hoping for changes within her federation.

Collins, in an interview with The Times late Sunday night, said Zvereva, at a news conference Saturday, had expressed displeasure with how much money she receives.

“She had said her pride is what kept her going,” Collins said. “She said she thought the system was unfair.”

Collins said he opened Sunday’s broadcast “with a plea to comrade (Mikhail) Gorbachev (the Soviet president). I said in the name of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) it was about time the kid got her money.”

But Collins said he was startled when Zvereva broached the subject on television.

“I brought the subject up,” he said. “She had no way of knowing about it. She was very disappointed. I assume she knew she was on national television.”

During the interview, Zvereva held up a representative $24,000 check that she had been awarded and then she told Collins and the crowd: “Yes, this is nothing. It is just paper,” according to Collins.

Collins then asked Zvereva how much she receives from the federation. She said she did not know.

Collins said the Soviet teen-ager first criticized her country’s system late last week when an Australian reporter surveyed some of the tournament’s players to see what they would most want to buy with their earnings.

Collins said Zvereva responded by saying she wanted a red Mercedes, but then said: “I make all this money and they won’t give it to me.”

Zvereva was unavailable for comment.

Collins said Zvereva is grasping the spirit of her country’s policy toward more freedom in politics and commerce. “She has been a working woman for a couple of years and wants to make some money, which is justifiable,” Collins said. “Their system is rotten.”