World No.1 Serena Williams has written a piece in the New York Times calling for the prestigious Miami Open to stay in their current location.
The tournament has been hosted annually at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park since 1985 and is currently classified as a Masters 1000 tournament for the men and as a Premier Mandatory tournament for the women. Despite holding a dominant position in both the men’s and women’s tennis calendar, the tournament could be forced to move to another venue due to an ongoing legal battle.
The venue is in need of a renovation, but a local judge has ruled against the proposal. The Miami Open is owned by IMG who wants to spend $50 million on the redevelopment. The issue facing them is Bruce Matherson and his family. In 1939 his family was gifted the park on condition that the venue is kept for public use only. Matheson has argued that the expansion of the area violates this agreement, a viewpoint which has been backed by the courts. Due to the legal backing, tournament lawyer Eugene Stearns, said in December that the future of the Miami tournament remains ‘dim’.
‘‘Absent a miracle, pretty dim. You know the old song, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone? We’re going to find out, apparently.” Stearns said.
Regardless of the dim outlook, Williams has publicly spoken about why the tournament should remain at Crandon Park. The 34-year-old has an outstanding record at the tournament, winning it a record-breaking eight times. The idea of the tournament moving is one that Williams is firmly against.
“When I think about the Miami Open having to leave a city I love because it isn’t able to make improvements that would benefit the players and fans, it saddens me”. The world No.1 wrote.
Williams, who has played at the tournament every year since 1998, spoke fondly about her memories of the tournament. She said the Miami Open has played ‘an important role’ in her life as well as others. She praised the tournament supporting up-and-coming players with wildcards over the years. The examples she used to back-up her wildcard claims includes former world No. 1’s Pete sampras, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
Further on in her lengthy article, Williams noted that the Miami Open has played a vital role in gender equality in tennis. In 1985 the Miami Open became the first tournament outside the four major tournaments to feature both men and women. More significantly, they issued equal prize money from 1985 onwards, 22 years before the Wimbledon Championships.
“In 2007, a decade after playing in her first Miami Open tournament, Venus led the successful battle for equal prize money for women at Wimbledon, ensuring that all four Grand Slam events paid women and men equally. The Miami Open had carried out Venus’s vision of equality two decades earlier”. Williams pointed out.
The future of the Miami Open remains an uncertain one. The loss of the venue could result in the tournament moving out of Miami and even the USA. With an annual attendance of over 300,000 visitors, the relocation of the event could have a wide range of implications.
