How Brisbane International botched tournament with hometown hero at the helm
The post-tournament review into the Brisbane International will be a lot more exciting than the first three days of the event. Where did it all go wrong? asks MIKE COLMAN.
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Oh to be a fly on the wall next week when stakeholders of the Brisbane International sit down for their post-tournament review.
It will be a lot more exciting than the first three days of the event, that’s for sure.
Last year, as the tournament started to come together, organisers, sponsors and tennis fans would have been rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
One after another the game’s top female players signed on.
World No.2 and defending champion Karolina Pliskova, reigning Australian Open champ Naomi Osaka and fellow Top Ten players Elina Svitolina, Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens.
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There were former Grand Slam winners Sloane Stephens, Angelique Kerber and Samantha Stosur and, to add glamour, veteran superstars Maria Sharapova and (until she pulled out) Venus Williams.
And, of course, the biggest drawcard of them all – world No.1 and hometown girl Ashleigh Barty.
While other top players’ stats are shown on the scoreboard before matches, under the heading: “Residence” are listed tax-havens such as Monaco, Nassau and Bermuda.
When Barty’s profile fills the screen her home is listed simply as “Ipswich”.
For the promoters it was almost too good to be true – and they were determined to make the most of it.
The Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson was festooned with giant banners bearing action portraits of just two players: Barty and their rival of choice Osaka.
“The term “gender bias” is not ideal for anyone, especially if you are trying to run a women’s tennis event”
She might have been third seed behind the Czech Republic’s Pliskova but there was no question the bubbly US-raised Japanese star was better box office, and it was all coming together beautifully.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, let’s see. You could split the tournament in two, give the world class 5500-seat Pat Rafter Arena exclusively to the men’s ATP Cup teams event and shunt the women – and anyone who wants to watch them – onto the small unbearably hot outer courts.
You could then keep Barty and Pliskova on the sideline until the fourth day and watch on in disbelief as Barty is eliminated by a qualifier ranked No.53 in the world.
And that’s just for starters.
The organisers have also had to cop scathing criticism from the likes of five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova and former US Open champs Stephens and Stosur who didn’t take kindly to playing second fiddle to the men.
In the #metoo era, being linked to headlines featuring the term “gender bias” is not ideal for anyone, especially if you are trying to run a women’s tennis event.
Perhaps inspired by the tournament slogan “Rise Up”, Stosur labelled the treatment of the female players “rough”. Sharapova said it felt like “a second-hand event” while Stephens spoke of lack of respect on the part of the ATP.
And then there was the issue of restricting Barty to just two doubles matches on the outer courts before finally sending her out against super-keen, match-fit qualifier Jennifer Brady.
Barty might not have an apartment in Monte Carlo, but she knows enough to not badmouth the organisers who made her the face of their event.
“I’ve had tournaments where I’ve played the first match on Monday morning and I’ve had tournaments where I played the last match on the last day of the first or second round, so it’s nothing unusual,” she answered when asked if the scheduling had played a part in her loss.
But others were not so reticent. Two-time event winner and No.2 Karolina Pliskova said Barty’s late start and Brady’s three qualifying matches and win over Sharapova had favoured the American.
“Brady she came from qualies, so she had a couple of matches already,” she said. “She beat Maria 7-6 in the third, which always gives some extra confidence, and for Ash, it was just her first match.”
The crisis control on the part of officials was swift but not overly convincing.
Tournament director and Tennis Queensland CEO Mark Handley issued a statement that skirted around the problems and spoke only of the “positive sentiment” he had received during a “transitional period”.
That transition is believed to be towards a women’s teams event along the lines of the ATP Cup, with Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley holding talks with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk regarding the construction of a second major arena to enable the two events to be run in tandem.
But building major stadiums takes time and public money – a contentious issue during an election year.
One thing is certain though. Tennis Queensland cannot afford a repeat of this year’s failings. They’ve already served one fault. They don’t want to put another one into the net.
Originally published as How Brisbane International botched tournament with hometown hero at the helm