Power Play Brewing Over Atp Net Logo Scheme

The Association of Tennis Professionals has delayed a controversial plan to put its logo branding on the nets at tournaments across the world. The issue was on the agenda and set for a vote at the ATP's board meeting at Wimbledon last week but, in a move being interpreted as yet another challenge to the ATP's embattled chief executive, Etienne de Villiers, no resolution was reached.

"It has not been put before the board for final approval," said an ATP spokesman. "But the board had decided prior to the meeting that it would not vote on substantive matters with three new board members elected only 36 hours before the meeting."

De Villiers promoted the idea in an effort to increase public understanding of what the ATP does and the net logo was trialled in Indian Wells. But the idea has been opposed by some tournaments and major players.

The US Tennis Association wrote a letter of complaint in April, feeling it would conflict with the Olympus Series of tournaments which has revived interest in the sport Stateside. And of the trial, a representative for Rafael Nadal said yesterday: "Rafael didn't like it. He didn't find it appropriate because it was confused with the ball."

With the high-profile court case being brought by the Hamburg Open and the recent sacking of ATP board members, there is a growing suggestion of open revolt against De Villiers' leadership. But some ATP insiders believe that tempers will cool as a 35% increase in prize money comes on stream next season and some £400m of investment in facilities is realized.

Court short

The Lawn Tennis Association's failure to get more Britons playing the game may lie in large part with its well rewarded grassroots charity, the Tennis Foundation. Analysis of the charity's 2007 accounts shows that paying four of its managers cost an average of more than £50,000 a head, with the now-departed executive director, Sue Wolstenholme, on a salary of £70,000-plus. The mission statement of the foundation, which gets multimillion-pound LTA grants, is "To improve tennis delivery in all local authority facilities" but there is a crisis in court provision in the inner-city areas that could breed future champions. Wolstenholme's successor, Sue Mappin, who took over last September, has found that government claims of 33,000 local authority tennis courts are vastly inflated, with only about 10,000 remaining. Yet until Mappin's arrival there had never been any dialog with the Football Foundation, the UK's biggest builder of multi-sport venues, which has long sought partner bodies to help fund construction of facilities for other sports.

Murray loses, touts win

Touts charged a rip-off £2,000 a ticket for the privilege of watching Andy Murray lose his Centre Court quarter-final in straight sets to Rafael Nadal. It is against the law to sell football tickets but scalping is perfectly legal for tennis even though none of the proceeds of such enormous price inflation flow back to the sport. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has promised governing bodies that it will review the possibility of introducing a list of "Crown Jewels" events for which secondary ticket sales would be illegal - but the snail's pace of action means touts are still winning.

Semi-detached sales

There was no Murrayesque demand for tickets to yesterday's semi-finals, as Wimbledon felt a certain lack of interest set in after the early exits of the top women's seeds. Without the glamor attractions of Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic the All England Club was reduced to advertising on its website the embarrassing fact that Center Court tickets were still available for sale. To you, squire, just £75.

Watchdog hunt hots up

Tennis's planned integrity unit - to counter betting and match-fixing - has moved a step closer to realization after a three-man shortlist of candidates for its director was submitted to the four governing bodies for their approval. With so many masters, the appointment of a consensus candidate will be crucial.