New condition for tournament needs a rethink
I REFER to the 2016 Junior Masters tournament organised by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) from Dec 13 to 17 last year. Item 8 of the Masters fact sheet published on Nov 26 stated clearly that “Based on ranking points, top 8 players will be selected. Players outside the top 8 will be placed in the waiting list and can be selected if any top 8 player withdraw.”
The Masters tournament is a year-end competition where the top eight players of each category are selected based on the ranking points each player collected over 10 tournaments throughout the year. The 10 tournaments comprise eight LTAM legs and two Selangor legs. This ranking points method of selection is modelled on the system used by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to which LTAM is affiliated. In the ITF model, as long as the player is ranked in the top eight, the player is selected for the Masters tournament, which attracts a huge audience and interest because it is the clash of the titans at the highest level.
However, for qualification, LTAM introduced another condition: “Players must have participated in at least four LTAM legs”. This condition has a serious impact on the quality of the Masters tournament. Many top players did not even apply to compete because they had played fewer than the four LTAM legs required. For those who did, the selection was based on the LTAM legs played and not the ranking points. As a result, a player ranked sixth with 140 points was not chosen. A player ranked 12th with 60 points was chosen instead.
This situation caused unhappiness among the players and parents but the main damage was on the quality of the Masters tournament, which was lowered. In order to groom and nurture high quality sportspersons for the country, isn’t it proper for national sports organisations to organise high quality tournaments?
When I contacted the LTAM officials to ask why they put so much emphasis on the four LTAM legs, I was told the association wanted to reward those who played more. There is no harm in rewarding those who played more LTAM legs but it is definitely detrimental for the association to reward them at the expense of the top eight players who trained hard to get where they are. Not only did they not get any reward, they were also sidelined and this is very demoralising. It is akin to a headmaster who rewards a student for sitting the most number of subjects instead of one who scored the most number of As.
Of the eight LTAM legs, only one is held in east Malaysia. This means players from Sabah and Sarawak will have to fly to the pen- insula at least three times to satisfy the “minimum four LTAM legs” rule. This will be very demanding on them in terms of time, finance and school attendance. If Sabah and Sarawak players can get to the top eight without competing in four LTAM legs, this could only mean they are very talented. So why deprive them of the chance to play the Masters?
A good player does not need four tournaments to get to the top eight. A weak player will not get to the top eight no matter how many tournaments he joins.
LTAM is awarding winners of the eight LTAM legs with 100 points and 75 points for winners of the two Selangor legs. I think this is a bit out of line. One of the Selangor legs is the Genting International Open. It is more difficult to win an international tournament than a local LTAM leg. So, giving the international winner 75 points means due recognition has not been accorded. Giving 100 points or more would have been nice to commensurate with the status of an international tournament.
We all yearn for the day when Malaysian tennis can shine on the world stage just like badminton and squash. It is with this good faith that I hope LTAM will consider the following suggestions:
1. Rank all 10 tournaments on par in terms of Masters qualification;
2. Ranking points for international tournaments should not be lower than local tournaments; and
3. Repeal the “minimum four LTAM legs” rule because it lowers the quality of the Masters tournament.
YIP CHUN YEUN Former President Lawn Tennis Association Hilir Perak