TENNIS "RACKET"

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 195, 3 September 1937, Page 6

TENNIS "RACKET"

Air Mail)

Tourneys Cornered: Makers Buy Stars DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

( Own Correspondent — Bv

LONDON, Aug. 8. 'I am able to reveal for the first time documenary evidence that tennis stars are being offered cash or its equivalent to seil themselves to manufacturers of sports equipment, and play in whatever tournaments they are ordered," writes Stanley N. Doust in the Daily Mail. "Tournament cominittees are appjoached by firms offei-ing the services of star amateurs who they knovv are bound to use the firms' own rackets and balls. . "The Lawn lennis Association must either allow players to receive expenses for open tournaments or purge the game from top to botiom in order to stop this. Tiie action they tako must be so drastic that no sports firm will dare to do the things liiat are being done to-day. "Certain firms have organised what are called "circuses." Bodies of players, both 'in Britain and from overseas, play in these circuses, using equipment made by the firms who pay tliem. This lias always been suspected, but evidence of the sort 1 have collected recently has never been available till now. Firm's Letter"A new firm has entered the eircus market, and has written the following ietter referring to a tournament which is one of the most prominent in Eng-. land after Wimbledon. Here is the full text, except that the names are not given; Regarding the players whom we liad to send to your tournament, there are some who will be going apart from tho foreign contingent. Aiiss , who has been in the finals of practically every tournament she has played in since Wimbledon and who beat Miss - — to become the champion of would be prepared to come, and I should be glad i-o know whether you can olfer lier the usual hospitality and also travel exjtenses. . I am particularly anxious that sho sltouid go to your tournament, where she would play in the mixed doubles with Mr — — , of (country), because 1 am not certain that all the other foreign players will be available for your tournament. Needless to say, 1 will do my best to let you have all available players. "This letter is signed by the tournament director of the firm, The woman player mentioned has hitherto paid all her own expenses at this tournament, but such is the campaign that even the unsuspecting piayer is becoming implicated. This particular proposition was turned down. £20 in Letter 'Recently I saw a letter to a wellknown player from a firm opened before my eyes. He took out of the envelope £20 in notes. When the coming of eircus players is advertised local players refuse to enter in the open evlents. One young man told ms last week: 'The circus is here and I would not get my money' s worth (6/- an event) of expenence playing against these people for one round and being beaten.' "At Wimbledon Tilden, Perry, Vines, Cochet, and Suzanne Lenglen were received with open arms when they played as amateurs and helped to build up the huge reserves of the Lawn Tennis Association, but as soon as they became professionals they were treated as untoucbables, had to resign their membership at Wimbledon, and were made to pay to see the championships. Yet the association now closes its eyes to this shamateurism. "The present racket is not fair to the manufactarer who cannot go to tournament committees with a long list of names of players who would draw the public. He does not get a clian'ce of supplying the balls and equipment. Pay £1,000,000 for Best. "A director of a well-known firm which boasts that )t does not run a 'circus told me last week that unless the Lawn Tennis Association took action he would put down £1,000,000, buy tlie best of the so-called amateurs, and ontbid his rivals witb the tournament committees. If tliat happeued all tennis lovers would be driven to golf or cricket, where there is not the same snobbery and where professionals are honoured because tliay have come out into the open."