Tennis economics (bis)
Gone are the salad days of the 1980s and 1990s, when the mere mention of tennis would send German fans streaming to the ticket windows and cause sponsors to open their wallets nice and wide. We saw more evidence this week, with news that the women?s tour stop in Hamburg is in danger, and the men?s Masters Series event in the same city is trying for a claw-back of prize money.
Tennis was an easy sell in Germany when the likes of Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, Michael Stich and Anke Huber were dominant figures in the sport. These days, German fans no longer have cheering interest to nearly the same extent. Tommy Haas is the only player in what one might call the élite, with a ranking of number 7. But the German public never seemed to warm up to Haas unequivocally, and his tabloid nickname, ?Florida Sonny-Boy? is not always used affectionately. And any hopes of a Tommy Haas-Nicolas
Kiefer tandem rivalling the Becker-Stich combination of old now appear unrealistic, in view of the collapse of Kiefer?s career.
The cupboard is barer on the women?s side, where Germany has 7 players in the top 100 but none in the top 50, and the women?s events in Germany are starting to suffer. This week the Hamburg tournament organizers announced that the future of the event is in danger. The Hamburg tourney relies heavily on television revenue, and negotiations with German networks for next year?s tournament are going nowhere.
On the men?s side, the problem is a bit more complex. The dip in tennis interest in Germany is compounded by the collapse of ISL, the sports marketing firm that had bankrolled the Tennis Masters Series (TMS) tournaments until this year. Like other TMS tournaments, Hamburg is having a difficult time rounding up sponsors that would allow for the maintenance of the hefty prize money, which totals over $2.5 million this year. "We will be unable to hold the tournament in 2003 unless there is a 30 percent red
uction in prize money,? warned Georg von Waldenfels, the boss of the German tennis federation.
As we have mentioned in past columns, the players are deeply suspicious of these warnings, and feel the tournaments may be using the economic conditions to make a money grab. There will be plenty of negotiating on this point in the months to come.
Kiddies Attack, Part II
Just two weeks ago, 15-year-old French prodigy Richard Gasquet caught our attention by qualifying for the TMS event in Monte Carlo and winning his first round match. We had a replay in Mallorca this week, when fifteen-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal-Parera qualified and won his first round match, 6-4, 6-4, over Ramón Delgado, an experienced pro best known for being one of Pete Sampras?s Roland Garros executioners (in 1998).
Nadal-Parera, a Mallorca native who is 15 days older than Gasquet, said after his second-round loss to Olivier Rochus (the little Belgian who looks like he?s 15) that his immediate career plans are clear: go back to school!
In case you are wondering what Gasquet has been up to, he made his return to the courts this week in Bournemouth, England, for a $15,000 Futures tournament. Young Gasquet blazed through the qualifying and main draws without losing a set to win the title. It was also confirmed that the youngster has been awarded a wild card for the French Open later this month.