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Pilot Pen may take ‘Q’ from Russians
Dave Solomon 08/03/2003
NEW HAVEN — If Maria Sharapova says the word, Anne Worcester is ready to move heaven and earth to sell a relatively unknown 16-year-old Russian qualifier to the Pilot Pen tennis public.
Madison Avenue used to call it sex appeal, until that became offensive to male and female alike. Now they call it "Q score," which is offensive to none but means the same thing.
I had never heard of the term Q score until this week, but I know that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, two giants of women’s tennis at No. 2 and 3 in the world, respectively, do not have it — whatever it is that compels you to be in the seats at the Connecticut Tennis Center each August.
Sharapova, who is not even eligible for a wild card into the main draw at the Pilot Pen, would have to get through the qualifier just to reach the main draw of 28. But when you’re in Worcester’s tres trendy Pliner’s (as in shoes), you take a chance on someone with a Q score as high as this Russian teen.
"If (Sharapova) signs here, you’ll see us restructure our print ads and restructure our TV ads," said Worcester, the tournament director of The Pen. "It’ll be a campaign inconsistent with her 56th ranking and one we’ve never had surrounding a qualifier. A lot of people will say, ‘Who’s she?’ It will be our responsibility to educate the public."
See Solomon, D5
Worcester, and all of women’s tennis have an important stake in Sharapova and several of her countrywomen. With the exception of Serena and Venus Williams, the superstars of women’s tennis are getting old.
Jennifer Capriati hasn’t won in 18 months and Monica Seles hasn’t won in more than a year. Lindsay Davenport has one title (Tokyo) in the last two years, while the other American in the top 10, Chanda Rubin, has so quietly snuck up to No. 7 in the world that it’s all you need to know about her Q score.
"Women’s tennis is cyclical," Worcester said. "When I became CEO of the (WTA) in 1994, women’s tennis was the Steffi Graf Show. There was no Monica, no Jennifer, (Gabriela) Sabatini was about to retire and Martina (Navratilova) retired in 1995. If a tournament didn’t have Steffi Graf, it didn’t have (star appeal)."
Then Venus Williams came along with Davenport, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova and Serena Williams and, combined with Seles and Jana Novotna, women’s tennis flourished on the court and on magazine covers in the late ’90s and for most of this young decade as well.
But where’s the buzz going to come from now, particularly with the American stars (other than the Williamses) on the backside of their careers. It’s a real concern and conceivably a major problem for women’s tennis in the not-too-distant future.
If it becomes the Serena Show, much as it did with Graf a decade ago, women’s tennis is in real trouble.
"There have been seven or eight marquee players who have pretty much been in the superstar category," Worcester said. "Who’s going to replace these superstars, who not only played a high level of tennis, but were charismatic and beloved ... or not beloved, but they were talked about? Their Q scores, their popularity and recognition scores, were very high. That’s how celebrities and athletes are rated.
"Kim (Clijsters) and Justine are very, very talented and they’re nice, quiet girls who mind their own business. They just go out and win. But are their Q scores high enough to take women’s tennis to the next level? Winning the French Open for Justine should have catapulted her into the hearts and minds of tennis spectators everywhere. We don’t get that many calls for (Henin-Hardenne) ... and she’s been here for three years. That’s just a fact."
Sharapova, who turned 16 in April and now lives in Bradenton, Fla., is the youngest and arguably brightest of the Russians with superstar potential. In June, as a qualifier at Birmingham, she eliminated three seeded players on the way to her first WTA semifinal. Then she attracted worldwide attention by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Then there’s Anastasia Myskina, a three-time winner who just turned 22; Vera Zvonareva, 18, with a WTA title this year and a stunning win over Venus Williams at the French Open; Elena Dementieva, 21, a winner at Amelia Island this year; and 20-year-old Elena Bovina, two-time winner last year.
At the risk of being slapped silly, their attractive quotient is also very high.
"It’s naive to think that physical appearance doesn’t matter," Worcester said. "Having said that, I would love for people to be more focused on athleticism and power and strength than appearance. But there is a reason why Anna Kournikova, despite having never won a tournament, has a Q score through the roof and is top-rated on every Lycos and Internet list of celebrities in the world.
"History teaches us that it’s talent and physical appearance and personality that makes a superstar.
Looking down the pipeline as we all need to do, the future of women’s tennis could very well lie in the hands of a few Russians."
It’s why Worcester is so diligently recruiting Maria Sharapova, the young Russian with an emerging game and Q score to match.
Dave Solomon 08/03/2003
NEW HAVEN — If Maria Sharapova says the word, Anne Worcester is ready to move heaven and earth to sell a relatively unknown 16-year-old Russian qualifier to the Pilot Pen tennis public.
Madison Avenue used to call it sex appeal, until that became offensive to male and female alike. Now they call it "Q score," which is offensive to none but means the same thing.
I had never heard of the term Q score until this week, but I know that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, two giants of women’s tennis at No. 2 and 3 in the world, respectively, do not have it — whatever it is that compels you to be in the seats at the Connecticut Tennis Center each August.
Sharapova, who is not even eligible for a wild card into the main draw at the Pilot Pen, would have to get through the qualifier just to reach the main draw of 28. But when you’re in Worcester’s tres trendy Pliner’s (as in shoes), you take a chance on someone with a Q score as high as this Russian teen.
"If (Sharapova) signs here, you’ll see us restructure our print ads and restructure our TV ads," said Worcester, the tournament director of The Pen. "It’ll be a campaign inconsistent with her 56th ranking and one we’ve never had surrounding a qualifier. A lot of people will say, ‘Who’s she?’ It will be our responsibility to educate the public."
See Solomon, D5
Worcester, and all of women’s tennis have an important stake in Sharapova and several of her countrywomen. With the exception of Serena and Venus Williams, the superstars of women’s tennis are getting old.
Jennifer Capriati hasn’t won in 18 months and Monica Seles hasn’t won in more than a year. Lindsay Davenport has one title (Tokyo) in the last two years, while the other American in the top 10, Chanda Rubin, has so quietly snuck up to No. 7 in the world that it’s all you need to know about her Q score.
"Women’s tennis is cyclical," Worcester said. "When I became CEO of the (WTA) in 1994, women’s tennis was the Steffi Graf Show. There was no Monica, no Jennifer, (Gabriela) Sabatini was about to retire and Martina (Navratilova) retired in 1995. If a tournament didn’t have Steffi Graf, it didn’t have (star appeal)."
Then Venus Williams came along with Davenport, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova and Serena Williams and, combined with Seles and Jana Novotna, women’s tennis flourished on the court and on magazine covers in the late ’90s and for most of this young decade as well.
But where’s the buzz going to come from now, particularly with the American stars (other than the Williamses) on the backside of their careers. It’s a real concern and conceivably a major problem for women’s tennis in the not-too-distant future.
If it becomes the Serena Show, much as it did with Graf a decade ago, women’s tennis is in real trouble.
"There have been seven or eight marquee players who have pretty much been in the superstar category," Worcester said. "Who’s going to replace these superstars, who not only played a high level of tennis, but were charismatic and beloved ... or not beloved, but they were talked about? Their Q scores, their popularity and recognition scores, were very high. That’s how celebrities and athletes are rated.
"Kim (Clijsters) and Justine are very, very talented and they’re nice, quiet girls who mind their own business. They just go out and win. But are their Q scores high enough to take women’s tennis to the next level? Winning the French Open for Justine should have catapulted her into the hearts and minds of tennis spectators everywhere. We don’t get that many calls for (Henin-Hardenne) ... and she’s been here for three years. That’s just a fact."
Sharapova, who turned 16 in April and now lives in Bradenton, Fla., is the youngest and arguably brightest of the Russians with superstar potential. In June, as a qualifier at Birmingham, she eliminated three seeded players on the way to her first WTA semifinal. Then she attracted worldwide attention by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Then there’s Anastasia Myskina, a three-time winner who just turned 22; Vera Zvonareva, 18, with a WTA title this year and a stunning win over Venus Williams at the French Open; Elena Dementieva, 21, a winner at Amelia Island this year; and 20-year-old Elena Bovina, two-time winner last year.
At the risk of being slapped silly, their attractive quotient is also very high.
"It’s naive to think that physical appearance doesn’t matter," Worcester said. "Having said that, I would love for people to be more focused on athleticism and power and strength than appearance. But there is a reason why Anna Kournikova, despite having never won a tournament, has a Q score through the roof and is top-rated on every Lycos and Internet list of celebrities in the world.
"History teaches us that it’s talent and physical appearance and personality that makes a superstar.
Looking down the pipeline as we all need to do, the future of women’s tennis could very well lie in the hands of a few Russians."
It’s why Worcester is so diligently recruiting Maria Sharapova, the young Russian with an emerging game and Q score to match.
:tape:
