By TOM A. MCFERSON Special to the Daily Press
With the Lakers, Clippers and Kings all on extended road trips this week, downtown Los Angeles is playing host to the top women in tennis.
The WTA Tour Championships, which continues through Monday evening at Staples Center, features the top eight ranked women in singles and the top four ranked teams in doubles. Qualifiers this year include American Jennifer Capriati, French Open and U.S. Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne, and No. 1 ranked Kim Clijsters.
After the lukewarm response and meager attendance experienced last year, tournament organizers are hopeful that new sponsors and an aggressive marketing campaign will change things this time around. Those hopes were dealt a severe blow when Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Lindsey Davenport, all former top ranked players and all local fan favorites, withdrew due to serious injuries.
The withdrawals were not a complete surprise. Serena Williams and Davenport are both still rehabilitating from recent surgeries, and Venus Williams has been battling a severe abdominal strain since early spring.
Tournament organizers are now hoping that the fight for the much coveted year-end No. 1 ranking, up for grabs between top ranked Clijsters and second ranked Henin-Hardenne, will be enough to entice fans to come fill the seats.
The last group of singles round robin matches will be played today, with the semi-finals Sunday, and the final Monday evening. Doubles action, featuring a back from retirement Martina Navratilova, begins Sunday.
Saturday’s matches are as follows: Elena Dementieva vs. Chanda Rubin Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Ai Sugiyama Jennifer Capriati vs. Anastasia Myskina The top qualifiers this year are Kim Clijsters of Belgium, Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, Amélie Mauresmo of France, Jennifer Capriati of USA, Anastasia Myskina of Russia, Elena Dementieva of Russia, Ai Sugiyama of Japan, and Chanda Rubin of USA.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 8, 2003. Read the original PDF.