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2014 Indian Wells: Why the WTA Should Worry About All the Empty Seats
Published: March 11, 2014
So why are there so many empty seats?
Anyone watching WTA matches at Indian Wells can see that attendance at the women's matches does not match that of the men.
In the days leading up to the tournament, media painted a picture of Indian Wells as a strong, growing event. The new Stadium 2 received rave reviews. Despite the ongoing boycott of Serena and Venus Williams, the tournament is supposedly better than ever.
Yet, there are so many empty seats.
Even headliners like Maria Sharapova could not fill the seats. Sharapova, the WTA's queen of endorsements, played her first match in front of a stadium less-than-half full. This was her first match since returning from the Olympics in Sochi.
Meanwhile, an opening-round doubles match featuring Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka drew a capacity crowd.
Sloane Stephens played her opening-round match in front of a near-empty stadium too. Her match followed Rafael Nadal's win over Radek Stepanek. The stadium was packed for Nadal. When his match was over, fans fled, leaving Stephens to play under dark desert skies with a handful of people watching.
The WTA has to be concerned about all these empty seats.
They are the strongest argument against what the WTA has worked so hard to earn: equal prize money. The complaints about women playing three sets versus five are weak. With the exception of Grand Slams, men play best of three sets most of the time.
Television viewership appears OK. Serena Williams' win over Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 U.S. Open final drew higher television ratings than the men's final.
But the empty seats impact the venue's bottom line. Even if corporate s...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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