Reaching out
Players likely to get ranking points for Olympic victories
Posted: Saturday January 23, 1999 01:42 AM
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American Andre Agassi was an Olympic singles champion in 1996 AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- As part of an effort to attract the top tennis players to the Olympics, ranking points are likely to be offered for victories, the president of the International Tennis Federation said Saturday.
The women players have supported the Olympics wholeheartedly and in the 1996 games, "only two or three of the men you might want to play" didn't enter, Brian Tobin said. He mentioned Pete Sampras and Boris Becker.
"If players are not in their own mind convinced that an Olympic gold medal is a big deal, then that's their decision," he said during a news conference.
"But we have tried to take every opportunity to make it easier for the players," Tobin added.
The ITF is very close to agreement with the ATP men's tour on offering ranking points for both the Olympics and the Davis Cup under a new ranking system to be introduced in 2000, he said.
"I don't think that ranking points themselves are going to attract Pete Sampras, for example, to play in the Olympics. But I think it's fair for all the other players who perhaps give up a tournament or two to play in the Olympics, or Davis Cup, that they don't suffer at the hands of other players who are winning points somewhere else," he said.
Sampras has cited the rigors of the regular tour for his limited Davis Cup appearances. He also is skipping the current Australian Open, claiming fatigue from efforts late last year to preserve his No. 1 ranking.
Tobin said the tennis program in the Olympics will be limited to 10 days, down from 12, so the players won't have to spend too much time away from the tour.
"We are trying to make it as player-friendly as we can, because tennis players are used to the luxuries of life. I think they will find ... that the facilities there [Sydney Olympics] will be equal to the facilities at major tennis events," he said.
The Olympics are important to giving tennis a wider audience, and also bringing in revenue to help develop the sport, he added.
Tennis gained about $3.2 million from the 1996 Olympics at Atlanta, money which was passed on to national associations, he said.
"It's very important to the smaller nations that tennis is part of the Olympics," Tobin said.
He called tennis probably the most international of sports, with 201 nations represented in the ITF.
But he said team competition was unlikely to be included in the Olympics, because just a few nations would dominate it, and there were logistic and scheduling problems.
In 1996, Americans Andre Agassi and Lindsay Davenport were the Olympic singles champions.
"The recent surveys we have done are very encouraging," Tobin said. "All of the players said that representing their country and winning a gold medal is very appealing to them."
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