WTA Taking a Chance With Williams Inquiry

The limb is in no danger of snapping with these assumptions: Venus Williams will receive her $140,000 in bonus pool money. The WTA will issue a release, saying it looked into the legitimacy of her cited injury, an inflamed left wrist, and found the evidence supported Williams’ withdrawal from the season-ending Championships.

And everyone will happily move on to the holidays, right?

Not quite.

The WTA apparently tried to send a message and the execution was poor. If this was the organization’s attempt at a line in the sand, well, it blurred quickly with the failure to answer the most basic of questions. Tour officials were asked Wednesday when the last time this kind of procedure had been triggered. A three-member committee (two doctors and a lawyer) selected a doctor to examine Williams.

“It’s not a new policy,” said Chris De Maria, WTA vice president of communications. “It has been used in the past.”

For which player? And in what year? There was no answer for those questions on Wednesday or Thursday. It may not seem important but, in reality, there is increased significance after a longtime Williams family advisor, Keven Davis, said that Venus and Serena Williams are held to a different standard than the other players.

It could be that the tour finally exhausted its patience with their frequent injury withdrawals. Still, the action, along with its quasi-investigative language, could have a long-term impact on the relationship between the tour and its marquee player, Venus, who has won four of the last six Grand Slam events. She has played sparingly, and the constant stopping and starting has taken a toll.

But the officials could have simply clarified the matter by releasing the previous cases that they say exist, thus ending the appearance of inconsistency.

“We’re going to reserve any further detailed comment on this until the panel has concluded its review,” De Maria said. “This is a procedure stated in our rules specific to the season-ending Championships. We are in no way inferring that we don’t believe Venus’ injury is valid but must follow our existing rules to safeguard the bonus money at stake. If an injury has been confirmed at a previous event, no panel is needed.”

Even Lindsay Davenport, who had been critical of Venus’ late withdrawal, held little regard for the investigation.

“I think it’s stupid,” Davenport said at the ongoing Championships in Munich, Germany. “If she doesn’t want to play, she doesn’t have to.”

Venus was examined by the doctor Wednesday. No timetable has been given for the review, but those close to Williams feel confident of the outcome. Williams had pulled out of last week’s event in Linz, Austria, because of the same injury and has been troubled by both wrists, so much so that her racket manufacturer has been working on a solution to reduce the stress on her arms.

From Munich, outgoing WTA chief executive officer Bart McGuire was not commenting. The WTA has had a difficult year in terms of public perception. McGuire was on vacation during the tour’s biggest crisis, in March at Indian Wells, when Venus withdrew because of an injured knee about five minutes before a scheduled semifinal against Serena.

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The road back for Andre Agassi, in part, started in Burbank. So there is precedent for a big-name player to drop down to the Challenger Circuit. Todd Martin’s reasons for appearing at the $25,000 USTA Burbank Challenger at the Burbank Tennis Center this week were slightly different.

Martin was supposed to play several tournaments in Europe but decided not to go because of the unsettled international climate.

“I didn’t want to be in Europe and traveling,” said the 1999 U.S. Open finalist. “If the airports shut down, I’d rather be in the States. If worse came to worse, I’d take my rental car and drive cross-country.”

This was his first event since this year’s U.S. Open and it showed. Alex Kim, the 2000 NCAA singles champion from Stanford, beat Martin, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round Thursday.

“I’ve had some nagging injuries,” Martin said. “But the fact is there are players who are getting better and better. If you miss two or three months at a time and then come back, it takes a bit of time to get into the swing of things and it might take even more than that.”

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Officials at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, curious about the Tennis Masters Series’ economic impact on the Coachella Valley, commissioned a study by the George Washington University School of Business and Public Administration.

It was conducted by professor Lisa Delpy Neirotti. Several of her students attended this year’s event and interviewed spectators. The numbers released this week showed a total economic impact of $100 million on the Coachella Valley. Notably, 79% of the spectators traveled to the tournament from outside of the region.

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The new father, Agassi, still has a shot at finishing the year No. 1, and is planning on playing the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney, according to his representatives.

The third-ranked Agassi trails No. 1-ranked Gustavo Kuerten by 87 points. No player over 30 has ever finished the year No. 1, according to the ATP. Agassi turned 31 in April.

Staff Writer Steve Pratt contributed to this report.

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Burbank Challenger

* Quarterfinals: Today, starting at 10 a.m., Amir Hadad (Israel) vs. Vincent Spadea; Karol Beck (Slovakia) vs. Kevin Kim; Tuomas Ketola vs. Cecil Mamiit; Alex Kim vs. Justin Bower (Russia).

* Semifinals: Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.

* Finals: Sunday, noon.

* Cost: Today, $10; Saturday, $20; Sunday, $30