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Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
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By
Fred Varcoe
Making a racket
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| Anna Kournikova is poised
to cause a stir in Tokyo |
The '90s were boom years for women's
tennis in Japan. At one stage there were eight Japanese in
the world's top 100, Kimiko Date rose to No. 4, and Japanese
players even managed to grab some Grand Slam honors in doubles.
So you would think, would you not, that a logical by-product
of all this high achievement would be a swell at the grassroots
levels of tennis and, entering the 21st century, a new wave
of female tennis stars.
In fact, it's hard to see. The stars of this month's
Toray Pan Pacific Tennis tournament (January 27-February 2
at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium) are nearly all from overseas.
Ai Sugiyama is hanging in there at No. 24 and the chaps at
Toray have been kind enough to grant new All-Japan champion
Saori Obata a wild-card entry (and Kaori Aoyama a qualifying
wild-card entry), but the main players come from all around
the world. Of course, the US is well-represented by the likes
of Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles,
but much smaller countries than Japan, such as Switzerland,
Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Croatia, also have strong
representatives—and they qualify on merit.
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| Japan's best: Ai
Sugiyama |
It's important that Japan's tennis
players make an impression at events such as the Toray Pan
Pacific, because if they don't, there may not be the
enthusiasm among sponsors to host such tournaments. Japan
suffered a big blow last year when the Toyota Princess Cup
reached the end of the road, leaving just two WTA tournaments
here—the other is the Tier III Japan Open tournament—both
of which are in Tokyo. The danger for Japanese tennis is that
the country's star players might disappear off the radar,
and budding Japanese youngsters will have no one to look up
to on the home front.
Koji Watanabe of the Japan Tennis Association believes the
entry of the likes of Obata and Aoyama is a good sign for
the future. “This certainly opens the door for Japanese
players to the world,'' he noted, adding, with just
a hint of desperation perhaps, “I hope both players continue
to develop their skills. The Japan Tennis Association earnestly
wishes that this top tournament will lead tennis as a sport
toward further development.''
The Toray tournament is a Tier I event, meaning
it's just one rank below the Grand Slams, and every year
it attracts a number of top players. In fact, coming as it
does right after the Australian Open in Melbourne, it often
draws the first Grand Slam champion of the year, so there
are no easy rides here. On top of that, it's held indoors
at the comfortable Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in the middle
of Tokyo, making it a very attractive proposition for spectators.
There is some doubt at the moment about the
appearance of four-time champion and six-time finalist Martina
Hingis, but two-time former champion Davenport will be here
along with fellow American and tournament debutant Capriati.
On top of that, there will be the usual frenzy that surrounds
the appearances of Anna Kournikova. Yes, she is that beautiful,
but it's a shame that the Russian—a two-time semifinalist
here—is still underrated as a tennis player. Could it
be a Kournikova-Sugiyama final? Well, no, but there's
nothing wrong with dreaming about it.
For inquires contact Fred
Varcoe at fred@metropolis.co.jp
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