Note, August 2: This column was written prior to the announcement that Serena Williams will be undergoing
knee surgery. While the general points about respecting commitments and the specific point about Toronto
still hold, I obviously went too far in questioning the Stanford withdrawal and apologize for that. We
wish Serena a speedy recovery.
A ?commitment list?, as you may know, contains the names of players who are expected to be competing in a given tournament. The list is issued in advance of the event, and is intended to give tournament organizers and fans alike an idea of who they can expect to see once the event begins.
One ongoing problem with tournament commitments is that they seem to be subject to last-minute change, depending on the whims of the players involved. This is not so much of a problem if we are talking about, say, a Lars Burgsmuller (no offense, Lars), whom the masses might not be yearning to see. But when we are talking about the top draw on the women?s tour, the world number one and six-time major champion, Serena Williams, not respecting commitments becomes a more complicated issue.
Last week we witnessed one of the more complicated and inventive scheduling flip-flops in recent memory, involving Serena Williams. It left two tournament directors smiling ear to ear, and two other tournament directors ?holding the bag?.
Friday, July 18, 2003 - Goodbye Toronto, hello Hollywood!
For the past two months, Canadians have been treated to advertising on television and in other media advertising one of the WTA?s elite Tier I events, the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto. Foremost among the promised attractions: world number one Serena Williams. The implied promise was, if you buy tickets, barring an unforeseen calamity such as an injury, you can expect to see the top female player in action.
The only official explanation given for Williams?s July 18 withdrawal was an unspecified ?scheduling conflict?. Toronto newspapers dug a little deeper, and reported that the conflict arose because Williams was offered a role in an episode of Street Time, a television series appearing on the U.S. cable channel Showtime. Serena?s Street Time episode is being filmed -- ironically, in Toronto -- during the Toronto tournament.
Friday, July 18, 2003 - Hello Stanford!
Meanwhile, Serena is entertaining the San Francisco media with telephone interviews from her home base in Los Angeles. She is due to play just north of San Francisco in Stanford, California, at the Bank of the West Classic, starting July 20. ?I'm excited to play there,? Serena assures the local scribes -- perhaps polishing her acting skills?
Saturday, July 19, 2003 - Hello San Diego!
Venus Williams withdraws from the Acura Classic in San Diego, to be held July 26th - August 3rd. In the same press release, we learn that Serena Williams has now entered San Diego, so we get the impression that Serena is effectively replacing Venus. But don?t dare call them interchangeable!
At this point Serena is enrolled in three consecutive weeks of California tournaments -- Stanford, San Diego and Los Angeles. One suspects that something has to give, since Serena never, ever, plays three weeks in a row.
Sunday, July 20, 2003 - Goodbye Stanford!
Indeed, the next day the Bank of the West Classic, due to begin the following day, was sacrificed. The official word was that Williams ?withdrew because of pain in her left knee.?
So the schedule flip-flop was complete. Serena had her two U.S. Open tune-ups plus her acting gig intact. Everyone was presumably satisfied, except, that is, for the jilted Toronto and Stanford tournament directors and the fans at those two events who may have bought tickets under the assumption that the world number one would play there. "It came completely out of the blue," Stanford tournament director Peter Tatum told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We expected her to show up. We had hotel reserv
ations for her. She did the press conferences.?
The CEO of the WTA, Larry Scott, also seemed less than pleased, particularly by Serena?s dumping of Toronto so that she could indulge in her acting hobby. Scott admitted to the Toronto Globe and Mail that as the rules are constituted he is powerless to discipline Williams for the withdrawal, and said the association was examining the possibility of revising the rules. In the case of Stanford, because the withdrawal was announced so late, Serena is subject to a fine unless she can produce medical do
cumentation attesting that she was in fact injured. One that would amount to pocket change for the young multi-millionaire -- hardly a deterrent to tennis stars who might wish to manipulate the calendar so cynically in the future.