No Swings, and a Lot of Misses

Andy Roddick became a Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer added a bookend to his 2003 Wimbledon title by winning the Australian Open, Justine Henin-Hardenne won the last two Grand Slam titles and, inexplicably, John McEnroe was given another shot at hosting a show even after the debacle of “The Chair.”

A lot has happened since Serena or Venus Williams won a title, let alone a Grand Slam event.

Flip back the calendar to July 5, 2003. Serena defeated Venus in three sets at Wimbledon, the first time she successfully defended a major title, and her place in recent history was being slotted so neatly: one Slam title ahead of Martina Hingis, but three behind Monica Seles.

Since then, it has been career, interrupted.

The score line since July 2003:

* Venus: two tournaments, four matches, including a third-round loss to Lisa Raymond at the Australian Open in January. Primary reason for long-term absence: nagging abdominal injury. Main reason for more recent withdrawals: an injured leg.

* Serena: no tournaments, no matches, one cable appearance as a wrongfully convicted gang member and one network cameo on “Law & Order” as a college basketball player with an unconvincing jump shot. Primary reason for long-term absence: knee surgery Aug. 1. Main reason for more recent withdrawals: largely unknown.

With each withdrawal, each week, more questions are raised. Serena pulled out of last week’s event in Paris, and Venus withdrew from this week’s tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, turning it into another Henin-Hardenne/Kim Clijsters show, but even that fell short when Henin-Hardenne withdrew Thursday, citing illness.

Equally confounding have been the hopeful quotes issued about future tournaments. In particular, Serena has continued to insist that her surgically repaired left knee “feels great,” yet she continues to drop out of tournaments. If this goes on much longer, the knee might be bionic before Serena hits her next competitive forehand.

The only certainty is where Venus and Serena won’t be playing -- Indian Wells. That tournament, which starts the week of March 8, has been off their list since 2001, when fans booed them after Venus pulled out of a scheduled semifinal against Serena because of a knee injury.

For now, Venus is scheduled to play in Dubai, a lesser Tier II event that starts Monday, and Serena could return a week later in Doha, Qatar, another Tier II tournament. So should these entries be written in ink? Here is the best advice for anyone without a six-figure income planning a long-distance trip around watching the Williamses, or any of the top players: make that plane ticket a refundable one.

Tournament promoters and sponsors don’t have that kind of protection, of course.

Another marquee player, Jennifer Capriati, also has been sidelined for months, out because of a back injury since the season-ending WTA Championships in November at Staples Center. Amelie Mauresmo of France pulled out of the Australian Open before her quarterfinal match because of a back injury and has not played since.

The series of injuries and uncertainty about the motivation of its top players may have an impact on the financial future of the Women’s Tennis Assn., both short-term and long-term. Already, the women received significantly less play and prominence at the Australian Open.

But for years the tour has lacked the right alignment of stars and front-office executives.

When the critical and popular buzz was there -- with the likes of Anna Kournikova, Hingis and Venus and Serena Williams in the top 10 -- the tour did not have executives with David Stern-type vision to take advantage of their popularity in the marketplace.

Now that the WTA has a right executive in the right place -- Chief Executive Larry Scott -- the stars are not just out of alignment, they are fashion models in training, aspiring TV announcers, budding actresses and B-list divas ... anything but tennis players.

For some perspective: Hingis has quit the game, and she has played as many tournament matches in 2004 as Kournikova and Serena Williams, and only four fewer than Venus Williams.

Deal Clouser

Business executive Chris Clouser was brought in last summer to help the men’s tour for lack of a better word, close marketing deals.

His first major partnership agreement for the ATP was completed last week with the Italian company Indesit, one of the biggest producers of household appliances in Europe.

The three-year deal is said to rank behind only the tour’s deal with Mercedes-Benz. Indesit will become the title sponsor of the ATP Entry Ranking and the ATP Champions Race.