Tennis: Move up carries a price tag

Before this week's ASB Classic, organisers would have been forgiven for casting an envious glance across the Tasman.

The Classic clashes with the Gold Coast hardcourt championships. But where the Classic was unable to attract a player inside the world's top 25, the Australian event had all eight seeds inside that 25, headed by No 12-ranked Russian Nadia Petrova.

Why the difference? The Gold Coast event is a Tier 3 category on the WTA circuit, one level higher than the Classic.

That means it offers US$170,000 prize money, US$30,000 more than Auckland.

The WTA guarantees three players in the top 20 for Tier 3. For Tier 4 it commits only to making "best efforts" to get two players inside the top 50.

So should Auckland Tennis look to climb one level? It's not as straightforward as that.

The WTA tournaments are sanctioned and must be bought, and that can't happen if they are not available.

There are 17 Tier 3 events worldwide - compared with 15 Tier 4s - and the governing body is reluctant to have two of them in the same part of the world at the same time.

If Auckland Tennis did decide to have a serious crack, and if a sanction was available, it's more than just a case of stumping up an extra US$30,000.

Auckland Tennis chief executive Graham Pearce said a Tier 3 event would cost about US$500,000.

The bulk goes to the sanction holder selling the event to Auckland. A transfer fee is paid to the WTA, and the prizemoney is on top of that.

Although Pearce won't entirely rule out taking a hard look at trying to move up one level, he wants to wait until the dust has settled on this week's Classic and a review has been done.

Double Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce was coming to Auckland, until she withdrew with an injury a few days before the event began.

"If Mary had been here, the standard of the field would have been right up, and we've had the added bonus of a New Zealand player [Marina Erakovic] coming into the picture," Pearce said.

The Gold Coast also benefited from the WTA stiffening a rule requiring top 50 players to appear in a minimum number of Tier 3 events this year.

The better players obviously prefer the higher-paying tournaments so many looked to get rid of a Tier 3 commitment at the start of the year.

Pearce said the Classic was the richest women's sporting event in New Zealand. The size of the country's economy, compared with other tournament hosts, was also relevant.

"At the end of the day it has to be economically viable," he said.

Auckland shares Tier 4 status with venues as diverse as Hyderabad, Palermo, Hobart and Estoril in Portugal.

The ultimate issue might be the regard in which the Classic is held among the players.

Many here this week are regular visitors. They like the atmosphere, which is less stifling than elsewhere, and they respect the work done by tournament director Richard Palmer.

The Classic operates within workable boundaries. Until a Tier 3 sanction becomes available, the question of going up a level is a dead issue.

If a sanction does come up, Auckland Tennis might be faced with the choice of sitting tight on familiar territory or taking an expensive, but potentially exciting punt.