Lindsay's Withdrawal Was About WTA Tour Politics

According to this article, Lindsay's withdrawal had more to do with WTA tour politics than the status of her back. If this is the case, why are the Williams sister taking the brunt of the criticism when they may have legitimate health issues? It does seem that she less critical in this article.


Star power in Carlsbad
The Acura Classic boasts a strong field, even without the injured Williams sisters.
By JANIS CARR
The Orange County Register
CARLSBAD – Love them, hate them or feign indifference. But wherever Serena and Venus Williams play, they create a buzz among fans and tournament organizers.

That's because their appearance usually means great tennis, increased media coverage, higher ticket sales and more revenue. In Cincinnati two weeks ago, the last place Serena was seen, tournament officials told the Cincinnati Post attendance rose 13percent over the previous year.

That is, however, whenever they play.

Acura Classic promoter Raquel Giscafre was left with two sizable holes in the 56-player draw when the Williams sisters announced Friday that because of injuries they were not playing this week's event at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

Venus apparently reinjured her wrist, while Serena was "advised" by doctors not to play too much too soon. She recently returned from a six-month absence at Cincinnati, where she reached the semifinals.

Lindsay Davenport also pulled out, but that had more to do with WTA Tour politics than the status of her back, which she has said is fine. The Laguna Beach resident has been out since March because of a bulging disc.

"The Williams sisters are definitely a draw," Giscafre said. "They are great players, and Venus has won it three times but Serena never got to play a whole tournament (she withdrew before the quarterfinals in her lone appearance in 2004). But we have a lot of players who also will bring in the fans."

Even without Davenport or the Williamses, the Acura Classic, which begins today at 10 a.m., still has six of the world's top 10 players, led by second-ranked Kim Clijsters, the tournament's top seed.

Clijsters, who successfully defended her Stanford title on Sunday, will be looking to avenge her only hard-court loss of the summer at La Costa. She lost to Shuai Peng in the quarterfinals, the lone blemish on a 36-1 record.

Defending champion Mary Pierce, ranked No. 9, is making her comeback after missing the past six months because of a foot injury. She is seeded sixth, behind No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 3 Nadia Petrova, No. 4 Elena Dementieva and No. 5 Patty Schnyder.

Nicole Vaidisova is seeded seventh and former champion Martina Hingis is eighth. All top eight seeds receive a first-round bye.

"Yes, it makes a difference when the Williamses pull out because a tournament loses credibility with the fans," Giscafre said. "But we're catching up nicely (in ticket sales)."

Keeping players in the draw isn't Giscafre's only concern at the moment. She and co-tournament director Jane Stratton reportedly have given the Carlsbad event back to the WTA Tour and more than likely will stage their final tournament in 2007.

The promoters had put the tournament up for sale but apparently were unable to find buyers.

"It's not yet certain what will happen after '07, but we will be here for '06 and '07," said Giscafre, who added negotiations are ongoing."

Lindsay not playing because the WTA are being asswipes again (not sure the case though) sounds legit to me, seeing how much crap they've been pulling lately.

Sounds more like a rumour to me...we need something concrete, report-wise, from lindsay and her team before we can point fingers and talk about tour politics.Who knows though, it could be true, just seems like ending a career early for the sake of petty tour issues isn't up her street.

Lindsay Davenport also pulled out, but that had more to do with WTA Tour politics than the status of her back, which she has said is fine. The Laguna Beach resident has been out since March because of a bulging disc
no more informations?that's just speculation...

LOLz. Someone find some better sources on that one.

Lindsay withdrew because she's recording a song with Gwen Stefani. That is all.

why would lindsay do that? She is better than that. I think she sick and tired of certain players being catered too, while the rest are forced to follow a diferent set of rules. Its unfair to everyone else really.

If you cant make a commitment than dont make it in the first place, its a joke really. I play tennis with sore ankles, wrists and god knows what all the time. These players are injured alot, sure, but they also milk it as well.

If you can bar hop till 4 am and shop till your dying from fatigue than you can play too...its ridiculous.

alana

The WTA may have forced her to play and event, that she didn't commit to previously (ie. Clijsters being forced by the WTA to play Toronto last year). Suddenly, she'll have to play one more tournament than she would like to, and to balance it out, had to withdraw.

i can't imagine that...but hopefully it's true...that would mean she will be fit next week

Its hard to go by this article, since it does not explain the WTA politics it claims took Lindsay out of the tournament. If her back is alright, then why did she site it as the reason she is not playing, if in fact that's what she said.

The only thing i can think of is that maybe she is playing Carson next week, and doesn't feel comfortable playing back to back tournaments. But if that's the case, what is she going to do at the US Open?

As for the Williams sisters, what is strange is that they not only waited until the last moment to withdraw, but they both did it at the same time. Why? Serena says it is on doctors orders. Why did she request a wild card for the tournament, then pull out. Isn't she talking to her doctor regularly, if there is some problem still?

What Williams fans have to remember if the number of tournament organizers who have complained about their pull outs over the years. They've done it again and again. The whole Indian Wells mess came over Venus pulling out of a semi-final match five minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

So what we got here in San Diego is very smiliar to what happened to actress Lindsey Lohan this past week. She missed a couple of days filming on a new picture because of alleged heat exhaustion, which prompted her to check into an LA area hospital. But she had been seen up all night partying at a club the night before, so the producer of the picture ripped her publicly, calling her an irresponsible spoiled child who was costing the company money.

That's sort of what happened at La Costa with the Willies.

I saw Lindsay over 4th of July, and just walking she seemed like she was having some trouble, so her withdrawing with injury seems legit to me.

I saw Lindsay over 4th of July, and just walking she seemed like she was having some trouble, so her withdrawing with injury seems legit to me.



What?!

The WTA may have forced her to play and event, that she didn't commit to previously (ie. Clijsters being forced by the WTA to play Toronto last year). Suddenly, she'll have to play one more tournament than she would like to, and to balance it out, had to withdraw.


Good point. LA may have been a forced tournament for Lindsay. She may not have wanted to play back to back tournaments out of form.

SF

LOLz. Someone find some better sources on that one.

Lindsay withdrew because she's recording a song with Gwen Stefani. That is all.


Love Lindsay tennis baby hurry up back come and save me!

Back as in HER back... lol

Talk about a vague, generalistic article. :o

LOLz. Someone find some better sources on that one.

Lindsay withdrew because she's recording a song with Gwen Stefani. That is all.

:lol:


:tape: i can't imagine her doing that

As for the Williams sisters, what is strange is that they not only waited until the last moment to withdraw, but they both did it at the same time. Why? Serena says it is on doctors orders. Why did she request a wild card for the tournament, then pull out. Isn't she talking to her doctor regularly, if there is some problem still?


Niether of them waited until the last moment to withdraw, Venus actually withdrew before Serena was even officially given the wildcard. And Serena withdrew two days after she was officially awarded it. The only strange thing is that people keep saying they withdrew at the same time and that Serena's withdrawal within 48 hours was last moment, when she didn't even get into the tournament until five days before the start. It was a last moment withdrawal only because it was a last moment decision she would actually play.

Fight the Power Lindsay!!!

go mary pierce!!!!!! (sO sO glad to have her back)

I saw Lindsay over 4th of July, and just walking she seemed like she was having some trouble, so her withdrawing with injury seems legit to me.

well, seeing as the fourth of July was nearly a month ago, and she is now saying that her back is "fine" and she is "practicing pain free", and has officially commited to LA, I have some trouble going into that. I guess we'll have to see when/if she turns up at a tournament in the coming weeks. Because I just can't see why she'd lie to reporters about her back if it was still an issue and enter a tournament that was never originally on her schedule.
if her withdrawl was about politics, it wouldn't surprise me. Lindsay has her views on a lot of tour issues and with all the recent changes like on court coaching and now the tier issue with the tournaments it could be anything. And she certainly isn't shy about voicing her opinions.however, she probably just wanted another week of training and practicing before she comes back. but i agree, this is a vague article that sites not reasons for it to be political.

LOLz. Someone find some better sources on that one.

Lindsay withdrew because she's recording a song with Gwen Stefani. That is all.

:spit:

Interesting.

I would like to see where they got their facts from it sounds like an assumtion to me not a direct quote or anything and I will be the first to admit I thought Lindsay's withdrawal was abit odd to say the least. She says the back is fine and then withdrawals.

Seems silly for Lindsay to do that, if its true. I know she has spoken out before about the WTA's system of mandatory tournaments, and has said that she would sometimes have to commit to tournaments she had no intention of playing, but she's been out for months. She can't be too tired to play here, and i'm sure she would want to get as much match practice as she could before the US Open.

I would like to know where this writer got this information.

you know, the more I think about this whole concept the more I think that her pulling out was nothing more than her wanting to enter a tournament closer to her home, one she is much more successful at, and that would give her an extra week of practice before she returns, to make sure she is ready. Personal bias to LA. And that the writer is just blowing her reasoning out of proportion. All of which is possible.
But I would like to believe Lindsay, if she says her back is fine, that I want to believe that it is fine.

tbh if i was coming back off a 5 month injury lay off, i wouldnt want to come back to a tier 1!

you know, the more I think about this whole concept the more I think that her pulling out was nothing more than her wanting to enter a tournament closer to her home, one she is much more successful at, and that would give her an extra week of practice before she returns, to make sure she is ready. Personal bias to LA. And that the writer is just blowing her reasoning out of proportion. All of which is possible.
But I would like to believe Lindsay, if she says her back is fine, that I want to believe that it is fine.makes the most sense to me!