Jem
Jan 28th, 2002, 06:47 AM
I'm in the process of going through my old collection of tennis magazines, dating back to 1975, and I found this wonderful piece about Mima Jausovec, the little Yugoslavian who won the French in 1977 and was runner-up to Evert there in 1983. It seems Mima wanted a European tournament staged at her club in Maribor, Yugoslavia, so badly that she went out and did TV commercials for money that was donated to her club, so it could fund the tournament.
One of the things that I much admire about the women of yesteryear is how hard they had to fight for the right to play for pay. (These spoiled players today have no idea about the sacrifice and commitment it took to create their multimillion dollar tour, which is why I get peeved when today's stars withdraw on a whim and demonstrate no commitment or respect to the game.)
That said, I applaud the stars of today when they give a little extra back through charity events, etc.; it just seems to happen very rarely.
One of the things that I much admire about the women of yesteryear is how hard they had to fight for the right to play for pay. (These spoiled players today have no idea about the sacrifice and commitment it took to create their multimillion dollar tour, which is why I get peeved when today's stars withdraw on a whim and demonstrate no commitment or respect to the game.)
That said, I applaud the stars of today when they give a little extra back through charity events, etc.; it just seems to happen very rarely.