LTAM yet to receive Malaysian Open sanctioning fees

THE Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) are not surprised that the WTA Malaysian Open will not be held next year.

LTAM secretary Rahizam Rahim claimed that Malaysian Open organisers, Carbon Sports have yet to pay the national body the sanctioning fees for this year’s edition.

“We have not received any information from Carbon Sports so far but from the looks of it, there will not be a Malaysian Open next year,” said Rahizam.

“There have been a lot of issues with money. In fact, we have not received the sanctioning fees for this year event which is eight per cent of the total prize purse.

“I need Carbon Sports to come and talk to us and tell us what their plans are like. We do not want any issues in the future.”

The Malaysian Open, which was held in February this year, offered a total prize purse of $250,000 (RM1,056,917).

It was reported that the original licence holders Palermo, who were leasing their permit to Carbon Sports since 2014, had decided to take back the event after the latter failed to meet payment obligations.

Carbon Sports executive chairman Keld Kristiansen, however, refuted it on Monday by claiming that his outfit decided to pull the plug due to a number of factors and was adamant that they neither owe Palermo any money nor breached any legal agreements. Fadhli Ishak