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ATP Chief: Tennis Alive and Well

Rumors of tennis's death have been greatly exaggerated, Association of Tennis Professionals CEO Mark Miles said yesterday, citing turnarounds in the sport's growth and pending reforms that could make the game easier for American fans to follow.

Miles's comments, in response to criticism by some members of the media that the game has lost its appeal in the United States, came the morning after the sport's greatest showman, Andre Agassi, ripped the ATP Tour and its leadership. After being eliminated from the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Wednesday, Agassi criticized the ranking system and the lack of a true offseason.

"It's easy to identify the problems, but it's difficult to solve them — and the ATP has shown that it can't solve them," Agassi said. "What we need, to be honest, is people to run the tour who know what the hell they're doing."

Miles, who has been CEO of the ATP Tour since 1990, dismissed Agassi's tirade as a result of losing. "It was largely due to frustration, I think, because his comments don't really connect with what's happening with him right now," said Miles of Agassi, who has played just 13 matches this year. "He's not overplaying; he's underplaying. It's hard to see him as a burnout case."

The changes that Agassi supported are among those the ATP hopes to enact by the end of the year, Miles said.

They include scrapping the current ranking system, which is based on players' 14 top performances in within the past 12 months, and replacing it with one based on the Grand Slam tournaments and other elite events. Miles said he also hopes to move the Australian Open from late January to the middle of February, thereby extending the offseason.

But Miles said reform isn't needed to boost tennis. He said the ATP Tour counts 20 million Americans playing the game now, compared to 16.5 million in the early '90s. He said equipment sales are up 10 percent this year.

No Fun in the Sun
Temperatures soared above 110 degrees on the court for the fourth straight day, and ball boys and ball girls felt the heat. They often stand unshaded during matches, not allowed to move a muscle until a ball shoots past, when they must sprint to retrieve it.

"It gets so hot out there sometimes, I pray the ball doesn't hit the net," said Ramin Roudi, 15, of Potomac. ...

More than 3,000 children attended the ATP Tour Kids' Day, a promotion the tour runs at each site to spawn youth interest. Each child watched the afternoon session and received a shirt, trading cards and tips from players.