As we await the next important stage of the season, the big American tourneys in Indian Wells and Miami, we pause to
reflect on a budding players revolt on the men's tour, and the resurgence of the now-"buff" Meghann Shaughnessy.
Mr Ed will be at Indian Wells for the next two weeks: please join us for daily tournament coverage starting March 5.
Our column will return the week on March 23.
The players are revolting
In our February 12 column, we shared with you the observation that some of the men’s pros were dissatisfied with the workings of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and were looking at the possibility of establishing a breakaway organization. During the recent tournament in Rotterdam tournament, more became known about the budding revolt.
According to reports this week, players Wayne Ferreira and Jeff Tarango are spearheading the movement
to form an independent players' union, and plan to launch the organization later this month. It is not surprising to see the names of Ferreira and Tarango involved. Both have for years been among the more headstrong and outspoken players, and have never hesitated to challenge the governing bodies of the sport.
According to a Reuters article, one of the players Ferreira and Tarango are trying to recruit is world number one Lleyton Hewitt. The Australian star has been loudly critical of the ATP at times, notably last year when he was fined heavily for refusing to give a mandatory interview during the Cincinatti Masters Series stop. Certainly, signing on a player of Hewitt’s stature would give the rebels instant clout.
Prominent among the grievances of the unsatisfied players is the issue of prize money, particularly at the Grand Slams. They feel that the players do not get a large enough share of the revenues generated at the major tournaments. The disgruntled players are also unhappy with the governance of Mark Miles, the CEO of the ATP, feeling that he has a conflict of interest because he represents both the players and the tournaments. They are also concerned at the size of Miles’s salary -- reportedly over $1 mi
llion.
While it is undeniable that most players are not pleased with the way the men’s tour is handled by Miles and his collaborators at the ATP, is difficult to judge the degree of success that the rebellious players will have in winning their fellow professionals over to the radical concept of a breakaway organization. Todd Woodbridge, the vice president of the ATP player council, is on record as stating that none of the players he has talked to support the Ferreira-Tarango plan, and argues that the players s
hould work for change within the existing structure. "We have an organization which is in place and to go and start a new one would go and defeat the purpose of what we have done before,” said Woodbridge. “All you would be doing is taking the same players to go and run what's already in place with the ATP." We have seen in the past that players have a tendency to avoid publicly rocking the boat. Recall that when Yevgeny Kafelnikov brought up the prize money issue in Australia last year, his complaints w
ere immediately dismissed by the likes of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras
Regardless of the outcome of the Ferreira-Tarango rebellion, it is clear that these are stormy times for the governing bodies of tennis. Earlier this year the CEO and COO of the WTA resigned, after either being forced out or leaving in frustration (depending on whom you believe). The ITF has publicly challenged the competence of the ATP and WTA to run their respective tours. And now, some the players are rebelling against the executives of the men’s tour.
During Indian Wells later this month, we hope to get a better sense of the feeling in the locker room about the breakaway players’ union.
Shaughnessy resurgence in Scottsdale
Arizona resident Meghann Shaughnessy is one of the WTA’s more intriguing figures. After drawing her family’s ire
by leaving home in her early teens with coach Rafael Font de Mora, to whom she later became engaged, the American became one of the tour’s rising stars in 2001, climbing to 11th spot in the world ranking.
Last year Shaughnessy slid backwards, playing mediocre tennis and falling to the 30s. The Arizona Republic, which is one of the rare sources of information about the usually secretive Shaughnessy, revealed this week that it was a year of turmoil on and off the court for her. Her controversial relationship with Font de Mora came to an end, as the two decided to part ways in every respect after the U.S. Open. "When you are together professionally and personally, where you separate the line is not e
asy," Font de Mora told the Arizona newspaper. "We were at a stage in life where we had to separate in both areas.”
However, Shaughnessy decided to return to Font de Mora -- but as a coach only -- toward the end of the season, and the results have finally started to come. Notably, she won the Canberra tournament and reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. And in Scottsdale she has performed well, knocking off Jelena Dokic (admittedly a popular sport these days) and reaching the semifinals.
We had noticed during the Australian Open that Meghann appeared to have transformed her physique, and Shaughnessy confirmed this in Scottsdale. In an effort to keep up with the power game now in vogue on the women’s tour, she has added 20 pounds of muscle to her formerly slender frame, and now pounds her serve at a more than respectable 115 mph. "I worked a bunch on strength, endurance, explosiveness, flexibility, injury prevention,” said Shaughnessy. “I spent hours in the gym every day and felt really
confident starting the year."
If Meghann Shaughnessy keeps going in this direction, we would not be surprised to see her knocking at the door of the top ten before the year is out.
Quotable quotes
""I did basically nothing last year. I nearly stopped playing. I was totally unfocused and I just spent time with my friends in Paris doing nothing special."
-- Hicham Arazi, a quarterfinalist in Dubai this week, explaining his puzzling drop out of the top 100
“It's people who write stupid things and some things they make up themselves. It's our choice. We don't like what people write…. People want to sell this shit? Okay, it's not our problem. I decide who I want to talk to."
-- Kim Clijsters’ father Leo, who has been saying some strange, Richard-Williamsish things this year, complaining about a “defamatory campaign” against him and his daughter by some of the Belgian media