Navratilova bounces back

TENNIS/Handicap System: Following five years of international market research, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have decided to modernise the game by introducing a standard handicapping system, to be launched next year throughout the world, writes Johnny Watterson.

EASTBOURNE EVENT: Legend Martina Navratilova turned the clock back eight years yesterday with a successful return to competitive singles and insisted it was no slight on the women's game.

The 45-year-old former Wimbledon champion beat Russian Tatiana Panova, a player 20 years her junior, in three sets to reach the second round of the Britannic Asset Management Championships in Eastbourne.

Navratilova, playing for fun after losing a bet with her trainer, triumphed 6-1 4-6 6-2 over a player seeded 21 at Wimbledon and will meet Wimbledon 11th seed Daniela Hantuchova, of Slovakia, in the last 16.

Asked if she thought her result would be seen as a reflection on the poor state of the women's game, she retorted: "If they do, that will really make me mad.

"When Michael Jordan comes back and still makes an all-star team, it's because he's great.

"If anybody says the women aren't good, I'll get really upset because they are good. I can still play this game and I can certainly still play it on grass. Don't look at age, look at ability."

A series of long rallies tested the stamina of the grand old lady of tennis and, although she produced a string of errors at the net, she showed she still possesses a serve-and-volley game to test the best.

Panova, who faces fellow Russian Anna Kournikova at Wimbledon, admitted Navratilova was simply too good for her. "She went to the net all the time and that was very hard for me," she said. "I was thinking 'she's 45 and I'm losing' but she played very well. She really wants to win, I felt that."

The ITN, or International Tennis Number, will become the number which represents a player's level of play. In time it is hoped that every competitive player worldwide will have an ITN. Under the system players will be rated from ITN 1 to ITN 10 with the lower number representing the highest level of tennis, which would be an ATP ranking, WTA ranking or an equivalent playing standard - basically anyone trying to play the game professionally.

An ITN 10 player will be one who is relatively new to the game, still working on being able to put the ball in play but not ready to yet play competitively. Each number between one and 10 will represent different grades of players.

The ITF have tried to keep the system as simple as possible but more importantly they have devised something that will be universally understood.

Several nations have their own unique rating systems including Ireland, France, Germany and the USA. The strategy has been formulated to develop a rating system that could be used both by those countries with their own system in place and those developing countries with none.

AWARDS SCHEME: Clubs throughout Ireland are to benefit from the introduction of a National Awards scheme. The scheme, sponsored by Eagle Star insurers, is a huge incentive for the 200-plus clubs throughout the country, writes Pat Roche.

Tennis Ireland will first conduct a major project in search of nominees, assessing club facilities, standards, coaching practices and membership qualification rules.

WIMBLEDON CASUALTY: Ireland's Kelly Liggan's bid to make the draw at Wimbledon failed at the first hurdle when she lost her opening qualifying tie to Russia's Ekaterina Sysseova at London's Roehampton Club yesterday. At 1-5 down in the second, Liggan saved two match points on her own serve to prolong the match and saved two more at 40-40 in the next before Sysseova won 6-4 6-2.