SWTE 2011

Hey you

I had a fun 3 days rehashing my linesmen duties again at the inaugural Singapore Womens Tennis Exhibition 2011 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for the past weekend. It was a real eye-opener especially with regards to the quality and calibre of the players and the level of play involved. Previously, although YOG was great introduction to professional hitting, they were still, afterall just juniors. Then the ATP Challenger event held earlier this year was much more intense and the balls were literally speeding by. The atmosphere was more tense as the guys were really fighting for valuable ranking points and prize money. I still remember the excitement of seeing Dmitry Tursunov eating a packet of Mixed Vegetable Rice by my side.

This year, the SWTE 2011 gathered 6 high ranking WTA professionals, with the lowest ranked 27th in the world (Anabel Medina Garrigues) whilst the highest ranked the number 6th player in the world and reigning US Open champion, Sam Stosur. I do find myself immensely proud to be a part of this tournament involving the best of the best players in the world. Watching them warm up and effortlessly increase the pace of their shots are mind-blowing. Hantuchova is so pretty and has such delicate features, that on close look (Which believe me, I am always in close proximity), she looks just like those H&M mannequins.

Throughout all the matches that I've 'watched', the most exciting one is certainly the semifinal clash between Pennetta and Stosur. I can finally see through my initial hate for the Italian, due to her untimely defeat of Maria at the US Open this year. She's a feisty, incredibly entertaining counterpuncher. She doesn't have any best of all time strokes, but boy she's a dogged competitor. Very versatile around the court, very likely a product of her successful foray in doubles. Smart player too who absorbs her opponent's pace well and redirect them with interest. I find her to be a much talented version of Radwanska (As also evident by the result of the finals played today between them), so I don't understand why she's not ranked higher. She's also the one who's the most game enough to provide entertainment value for the audience, seeing as this tournament is afterall, just an exhibition.

Stosur is all business on court, as would be expected. And her famed kick serve and that forehand, both are truly devastating shots. The wrist snap generates so much spin and kick on her strokes that when she's in the zone (First set first 6 games against Pennetta), she's world class unbeatable. But being a known headcase, I guess the 3 set loss result is hardly a surprise.

Now, I've heard rumours that they are trying to import a WTA tournament next year into Singapore. I do love my tennis, and I adore the drama of the WTA matches and players. But I really do not think this will work out.

One of my main issues all weekend is how thin the crowd was. Looking at the sparsely filled stadium especially on Friday, it's disheartening to even think about how the players would feel playing for nobody. It appeared even worst on the papers when the photograph showed something like 15 people in the stands? That's bad publicity for a city that aims to hold a world class professional tournament in the next year.

Public interest is lacking, that's the concern. In general, tennis is not a major sports outlet in Singapore. The only one with a legitimate claim to that is soccer. Even sports like table tennis and swimming, I do not think that can pique the public interest enough to fill up stadiums and stands. They only got the attention, rightfully, because of them being medal-winning sports.

Often I feel this goes down to the root of not having a born-&-bred or at least imported-&-converted champion in Singapore. Last time I checked, we do not have a Singaporean player in the Top 100 of either ATP or WTA. It's tested and proven: a player making it big in the international arena of any sports will spark interest back in their home country. Look at Djokovic's success and the booming tennis scene in Serbia. Look at Wozniacki's success and the Copenhagen tournament. Singapore is simply not producing world class tennis professionals to generate enough interest to the sport.

In addition, as someone who've experienced the harsh weather and its subsequent effects on locally-held tournaments (Read: Rain-out), I'd say any tournament held here should be indoors, like the just concluded SWTE. Having all the rain and humidity would absolutely kill the schedule and match rythm as well. The Challenger event this year is a great cautionary tale I feel.

As for the SWTE 2011, my opinion is that the organiser did not do enough to market the tournament over here. Personal grudges aside (Oh, aplenty for all the linesmen), they should really do more in their promotion and marketing to get more people to come in and watch the matches. No engagement with school tennis clubs? That proved wildly successful during the YOG. Give out student discounts and special price cuts for members of school tennis clubs, Secondary, Primary Schools, JCs as well as tertiary institutions. Also to outside independent tennis clubs, or current school team players. These are the people who should and would fill up the Friday afternoon working hours. And the price tag is TOO expensive yo. I just find it a waste that such a great opportunity to promote tennis has been let slipped, especially with such an impressive roster of players.

Nonetheless, I had fun and the linesmen family feels tighter than ever.

Gosh, birthday's coming.

- Domon