Carson tennis event facing uncertainty

The U.S. Tennis Assn. said Monday it essentially has taken its key summer tournaments in Carson and New Haven, Conn., off the table for now by not applying for slots on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for 2009, a decision that raises questions about the future of those events.

The USTA owns the New Haven tournament, and holds 25% of the event in Carson, which is held at the Home Depot Center. The Anschutz Entertainment Group owns the other 75%.

Both hard-court events are part of the U.S. Open Series, and USTA executive Chris Widmaier spoke about the possibility of using them to create a rival circuit.

Sources said that organizers of the clay-court event in Charleston, S.C., also did not complete an application for a slot on the 2009 WTA calendar.

The USTA’s decision, which is not set in stone, reveals the simmering dispute over the WTA’s commitment to change its schedule as it seeks to boost participation by the top female players by minimizing the wear and tear of tournament play.

The WTA’s Roadmap 2010 is aiming for an “enhanced calendar” to be in place for the 2009 season, according to Chief Executive Larry Scott. The USTA sees the plan as a threat to its U.S. Open Series.

“Our belief is that the Roadmap is detrimental to tennis in the United States. We’re going to keep all of our options open,” Widmaier said, adding that the USTA has $10 million earmarked “in the event we begin our own circuit.”

Despite not having Carson and New Haven yet, the WTA announced that 57 other tournaments have completed applications for 48 slots for the 2009 calendar. Indian Wells is one of those tournaments. There will be a top tier of 14 tournaments in the revamped schedule, and 25 tournaments have applied for those slots.

Scott, who received an endorsement from his board of directors Monday in the form of a five-year contract extension, is optimistic things will be worked out with the USTA.

“Talks between the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and USTA regarding the Tour’s Roadmap 2010 plan are advancing in a positive and constructive manner, and we continue to believe that we will reach a compromise that is great for women’s tennis and fans of women’s tennis in both the U.S. and globally,” he said in an e-mail. “We remain determined to bring reform to the tennis calendar so the fans and tournaments can consistently see a greater number of stars on a more reliable basis.”

The women’s tennis tour called the application process only the first stage, and negotiations are expected to continue at a U.S. Open Series meeting today in Tampa, Fla.

All this however, serves as a backdrop in the changing landscape of local tennis.

Already, Southern California is losing a high-profile tournament: This is the final year of the Acura Classic at La Costa Resort & Spa after the event’s owners sold it back to the WTA Tour in August.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com