Female tennis players threaten Athens boycott

MONTREAL – The world’s top female tennis players may boycott this month’s Summer Games after the German Olympic Committee refused to send its top two women to Athens.

“A boycott is being considered,” France’s Nathalie Dechy said. Germany’s exclusion of Anca Barna and Marlene Weingartner has drawn fire from not only the other players, but also officials from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour.The WTA oversees women’s tennis worldwide.”This is an injustice to our players, so we’re lobbying the International Olympic Committee and the German Olympic Committee to reverse their decision in the interest of our sport,” WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott told the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper.Scott and others plan to meet this week with some of the players at a WTA tournament in Montreal.Barna (46th) and Weingartner (52nd) are ranked in the top 55 players in the world.But according to German officials their play has not been good enough this year to meet the tough standards required to qualify for the Olympic Games.Olympic tennis competition is scheduled to begin on August 15 in Athens.- Nampa-AFPGermany’s exclusion of Anca Barna and Marlene Weingartner has drawn fire from not only the other players, but also officials from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour.The WTA oversees women’s tennis worldwide.”This is an injustice to our players, so we’re lobbying the International Olympic Committee and the German Olympic Committee to reverse their decision in the interest of our sport,” WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott told the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper.Scott and others plan to meet this week with some of the players at a WTA tournament in Montreal.Barna (46th) and Weingartner (52nd) are ranked in the top 55 players in the world.But according to German officials their play has not been good enough this year to meet the tough standards required to qualify for the Olympic Games.Olympic tennis competition is scheduled to begin on August 15 in Athens.- Nampa-AFP