Something Smells Bad, and It’s the WTA 125K Series
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“In 2012, the WTA introduced the WTA 125K Series of tournaments to provide an opportunity for new markets to showcase a professional women’s tennis product and offer lower-ranked and up-and-coming players additional opportunities to compete and earn prize money and ranking points.”
The WTA 125K Series, described above by the WTA, kicked off last week in Nanchang, China, where former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic was the top seed.
What kind of happy horse shit is this?
Stop confusing tennis fans with this nonsense.
The WTA continues, “WTA 125K Series events are a level above top-tier ITF Women’s Circuit events…”
So, are they WTA tour events, or minor-league ITF events?
Jankovic played the event and…get ready…wait for it — won it! Without dropping a set. She beat Riko Sawayanagi, Chang Liu, Ying-Ying Duan, Xinyun Han, and in the final unseeded Kai-Chen Chang. Does this equal a WTA title? Guess so, because under the list of titles for Jankovic on the WTA website for 2015 it lists “125/Nanchang,” but oddly did not bump up her total career count from 13 to 14.
WTF WTA?
In the tournament summary after the event the WTA wrote cryptically, “The Serb is the first player who was, had been or would be No.1 to win a WTA 125K Series title.”
After raising the WTA/ITF/Whatever trophy, Jankovic said, “I would really like to come back next year,” which is player code for, ‘I’d like you to again give me a truckload of under-the-table appearance money to come here again next year.’
This is not a WTA Tour title. Stop confusing tennis fans.
Could you imagine the ATP creating such a series and having Roger Federer drop in with a wild card to beat everyone’s ass ranked outside the Top 200? Then adding it to Roger’s title count? Wouldn’t happen.
The WTA 125K Series seems like a good idea WTA, but call it what it is. Not your top-tier product, and even if you want to get butts in seats, not somewhere top players should be showing up. #StopDilutingYourProduct
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