WTA Age Eligibility Rule makes achieving a ranking more difficult and costly as well as time consuming for the European player and other players as well as provides a buffering effect for the USTA wild-carded Americans helping them to achieve their inflated rankings more easily courtesy of the USTA wild cards (3 per year for players 14 to 16, and 6 per year from 17 years on) that they receive into the many, many Satellite and Major Tour events held in the US. As a result of these wild cards, the Americans do not need to even participate in the very difficult 128 Qualifyings (especially in Europe) in Croatia, Belgium, Portugal and Spain like many of the Europeans and other players in order to obtain their rankings. They simply can play three tournaments with wild cards and get their points even if they lose first round and this secures their opening world ranking, which supplies a quick fix to something that could take up to 2 years playing Satellite Qualies to secure.
End Result: The true talent of Europe and other countries (fully willing to come through 128 Qualifyings without the wild card) is shut down and less skilled US girls get the higher inflated rankings courtesy of the USTA wild cards.
Question: Is this fair to the world rankings? Are the top players (rankings go down to 1150) in the world being truly represented?
Proposed Solutions (choose one or all):
1. Get rid of the Age Eligibility Rule and allow the ambitious European players and other players to once again be able to play enough tournaments for points to get their true rankings in a timely fashion OR at the very least by age 15, allow unlimited tournaments.
2. Only allow Wild Cards AFTER every girl in the world has achieved their ranking by coming through the 128 or 64 Qualies 3 times (as the rule states, without the use of wild cards) in draw sizes of a minimum of 64. Make sure that the USTA provides a series of at least 3 three 128 Qualies in a row two or three times per year, so as to not shut out Europe and other players economically from coming over here and competing in perhaps an easier Qualifying as compared to those 128 Qualifyings in Croatia, Spain, Portugal or Belgium, for example. US: Do not make often one to two week gaps in their 128 Qualifiyings as they currently keep doing to further discourage European and other country participation as well as jumping 3 or 4 states to have these events.
3. No more than 3 wild cards* per year at any time, any age, for the rest of everyone's life.
*Exception: should some players want to go this route, reward the top 20 ITF World Juniors with 3 - 5 wild cards per year for achieving this ranking starting at age 14 to receive these wild cards.
4. Up to age 16, no wild cards in any events above the Main Draw level of a $10,000.
5. Award only a maximum .5 points for a first round loss to a wild card recipient if competing in a first round that would normally receive points in any event, Grand Slams included.
Do you have an opinion about this? Let your voice be heard.
Write to: professionaldept@itftennis.com or try the WTA General Mail: general@sanexwta.com
