2008 Season Starts With Question Marks

Only two days into the new season, people are already asking, "Where's Serena?" She was a no show, again, at the Hopman Cup in Adelaide on Saturday. Meghann Shaughnessy filled in for her to help the U.S. win its first round. Latest word is Serena is on her way to Adelaide.



The point is that it seems there are a lot of questions about how this season is going to go and how fluid the rankings are likely to be as top players show varying degrees of commitment to, and physical performance in, the early tournaments.



Most of the action will be overseas and not receive much press in the U.S. during the first month of the season. Therefore, we are likely to be unaware of the uncertainty that major players are placing on the expectations of tournament organizers and sponsors with their casual attitude toward appearances. This is a growing problem for the sport, we think, because such uncertainty affects spectator interest and attendance.



This is someting we plan to watch and monitor, so stay posted.