Larry Scott Steps Down

Well, well. The recipient of two consecutive Gonad Awards for Biggest Overall Disappointment on the WTA, I'm happy to see Larry Scott resigning from CEO of the WTA to become Commissioner of NCAA's Pac-10.

As Savannah wrote, this provides a prime opportunity for the tours to join, something Billie Jean King has been calling for rather loudly in recent weeks.

The BNP Paribas Open proved just how poor the WTA product is now. Scott's resignation should inspire those with the biggest influence on women's tennis to take a comprehensive inventory of the tour and suggest some much-needed improvements.

Tennis Night in Gotham

by Savannah


Getty

Serena wore down Venus in a 6-4, 6-3 victory Monday night, wowing the fans with her impressive power as women’s tennis returned to the Garden after a nine-year absence. Yahoo! Sports

I never quite got why tennis decided not to stage events in the Garden anymore. I remember reading about the end of year WTA championships that were held there, and later in Philadelphia and vowing one day to see the great women players in the flesh. Unfortunately until last night that was an unfulfilled tennis pipe dream.

Savannah's World

Quote For The Day

"We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) denying Shahar Peer a Visa that would permit her to enter the country to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships. Ms. Peer has earned the right to play in the tournament and it is regrettable that the UAE is denying her this right. Following various consultations, the Tour has decided to allow the tournament to continue to be played this week, pending further review by the Tour’s Board of Directors. Ms. Peer and her family are obviously extremely upset and disappointed by the decision of the UAE and its impact on her personally and professionally, and the Tour is reviewing appropriate remedies for Ms. Peer and also will review appropriate future actions with regard to the future of the Dubai tournament. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour believes very strongly, and has a clear rule and policy, that no host country should deny a player the right to compete at a tournament for which she has qualified by ranking."--Larry Scott

Something tells me Scott isn't going to do jack. Like he's going to mess with all that money.

From the Horses Mouth - An Interview with Larry Scott

by Savannah

Q. We've kind of heard rumors that players were still talking about the road map, and wondered if there had been any last moment tweaking or changings or alterations in the road map?

LARRY SCOTT: Most of the elements of the road map have been set for the last 18 months, but as we're getting closer to 2009, we've been detailing how the rules are going to work, schedules, et cetera.

There were several concerns expressed by our top players over the last few weeks as we started sitting down with them doing their individual schedules. Their concerns related to two issues, primarily. One, a concern that there wasn't enough break between some of our big tournaments, which were back‑to‑back, primarily players playing in Rome right up against Madrid next year.

Rome is a 56‑draw tournament followed by Madrid which is a 64‑draw tournament on Saturday. Similarly in the fall, Tokyo is a 56‑draw tournament followed by Beijing, which is a 64‑draw tournament. Those tournaments overlapped very closely. Players were concerned it was too many matches in too few days.

Savannah's World