GermanBoy said:
IMO, young players need every chance they can get to gain experience. You can`t really say Elke Clijsters doesn`t deserve the WC.
Yes you can. If this tournament were in Antwerp and they really wanted to give her a WC, sure, go for it. I think she's among the top 5-10 or so in Belgium so it's not totally outrageous for her to recieve one. Recieving one here however is unnecessary. I can understand Anna Lena because she is an up and comer with very good results in the juniors and a ranking of around 150 plus she is GERMAN. Babsi, although slumping, is a former top 10 player and the replacement for Anna Kournikova in the looks department. Also, I know Anke is doing something with the tourney in Filderstadt but may very well be doing work for the tourney here. If that's the case, she and Babsi are best friends so it is politics coming into play.
As far as Elke goes, she doesn't suck. The whole "riding on Kim's fame" thing is very unfair. She's not like Torrey Gambill (brother of Jan-Michael) who plays satellite qualifying and often can't even get a game in the 1st round of it. She HAS had some decent results on the satellite level for singles and the low challenger level for doubles. HOWEVER, she is in no way ready to play with the kinds of players in these tournaments. A qualy WC would be understandable. She would probably get a better match and maybe even sneak in a win. Throwing her to the wolves in a Tier II does nothing. It might the first time, as getting your butt kicked on a big court in front of a big crowd might be a "learning experience." Eventually that experience becomes repetitive though, as has happened with her. But she does play a full schedule and although very slowly, she is showing some signs of progress with her results. She very well may never make it past 25K level, but that doesnt mean she hasnt put in the same amount of work Kim has..