Kids Are Leading the Way So Far

With each victory, such players as 18-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova and 14-year-old Viktoriya Kutuzova raise a seemingly age-old question: How young is too young to play professional tennis on a full-time basis?

Kuznetsova and Kutuzova made the strongest cases yet for the young set as each prevailed in second-round upsets Wednesday in the JPMorgan Chase Open at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Kuznetsova, unseeded and ranked No. 29 in the world, came from behind to defeat fifth-seeded Jelena Dokic, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, while Kutuzova advanced when 15th-seeded Alexandra Stevenson retired because of a strained right shoulder with Kutuzova leading, 6-3, 3-3, and serving at 40-15 in the seventh game of the second set.

“I knew I was going to have some chances to come back and I did that,” Kuznetsova said.

Kuznetsova’s playing time in WTA events has been limited until recently by WTA age-eligibility rules restricting competition for underage players. Kutuzova’s schedule is still restricted. She is limited to a wild-card berth in just one WTA tour event this year.

“I think they should change it,” Kuznetsova said. “When I was 16 and 17, I felt like I wanted to play more matches because I knew I was so close. I just didn’t have enough experience.”

Kutuzova’s latest victory came on the heels of a 6-4, 6-4 upset of No. 41-ranked Lina Krasnoroutskaya in the first round. She will take on fourth-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan in the round of 16 today.

“For this day, I was better,” said Kutuzova, at No. 451 in the world after earning her first WTA ranking this week.

Maria Sharapova, 16, who will face top-seeded Kim Clijsters today, is limited to 10 pro tournaments per year, plus the season-ending tour championships, Fed Cup play and three exhibitions.

“I definitely think there could be some changes,” Sharapova said earlier this week. “But a rule is a rule, and you’ve just got to go with the flow.”

Age-eligibility rules for players under 18 were instituted in 1994 with the intent of guiding their development in the grown-up, far-flung world of pro tennis.

WTA spokesman Darrell Fry said the idea is not to inhibit competitive growth but to foster it while also attempting to minimize the potential for physical injury and psychological damage.

“The research we have done has shown that the best way for players in general to matriculate is to do it gradually,” he said. “There are always going to be some exceptions, and maybe there’s a player who can do it.

“But while that one maybe can play with the top players, there’s a lot more to it.

“There’s a lot to learn, with the money, the travel, agents, the fans, the media. It allows players to demonstrate that they can compete and handle everything that goes along with it.”

Kuznetsova, who turned 18 in June and just began playing an unlimited schedule after Wimbledon, will face Silvia Farina Elia in the next round.

“You just have to play at this level to progress as much as possible,” she said.

In other matches Wednesday, Clijsters routed Emelie Loit of France, 6-1, 6-1, Lindsay Davenport defeated Barbara Schett of Austria, 6-3, 6-1, eighth-seeded Amanda Coetzer beat Aranxta Parra of Spain, 6-1, 6-1, and Ruano Pascual took 3 hours, 11 minutes to beat ninth-seeded Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.