paulisi wrote:

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Don't forget Chiswick is a 15K and the cut of for singles is 461 at present. I'd expect a few to drop out so 550 should make the main draw.

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Yes I know that quite a lot will drop out but it will still leave a pretty strong field, with the top 4 seeds looking likely to include zero British players. In comparison Nottingham, the week before and also a 15K, currently has a cut of 845.

Kyle is down on the entry list for the San Marino CH, and has confirmed in an interview (on another thread) that he intends to play San Marino. Although he's a long way back in qualifying at the moment, plenty of time for him to shift up, though no guarantees.

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I do find JoKo's schedule a little baffling. 2 $25ks in 3 weeks to start off a North American tour which sees her defending US Open Q+R2 points. Not very ambitious when there are WTA tournaments available in North America which she could attempt qualifying for.

I understand why someone like Tara, newly into the top 200, probably still wants to play quite a few $25ks to consolidate her ranking, rack up more tournament finals and wins, and mentally adjust to the fact that $25k is now her MINIMUM playing level where she be aiming REALISTICALLY to win the tournament every time she enters one.....I'd expect no more $10ks, even to start off next year.

But JoKo, ranked inside 150 and still rising, one year on from a great run at the US Open, should be a different situation unless she has had something of a crisis of confidence........

philwrig wrote:

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I have no problem with a mixture of 25ks and tour events, they know best anyway because Jo knows herself very well and has a great coaching setup and a great work ethic.

I think you have to be careful making certain points when we you are not within the inner circle. Her coach has coached at the highest level and knows what it takes to get to that highest level so I would never doubt their strategy or choice of tournaments.

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Phil. You get to meet a lot of the players and the coaches which is terrific. I'm sure they are all very nice and all have tremendous credentials.

Indeed I'm sure every single coach involved in elite British tennis, mens womens and juniors over the past 20 years can point to a long involvement in the game, lots of passion and knowledge, superb credentials, etc. By definition, they ought to "know" the game inside out, and the best way to develop players. Most of us are just fans looking on.....

But as a nation, at elite level, with 1 or 2 notable exceptions, we have done appallingly badly......especially so with players who have been coached directly or indirectly within the LTA set-up. So I think it's perfectly reasonable for "outsiders" to pose a few questions/challenges from time to time; in fact sometimes people less close to the coalface point out things which on reflection seem obvious to all but those on the inside.

Not saying the tournament profile is "wrong" per se.....merely a little baffling from an outsider's perspective for a top 140 player on the rise with top 100/full time WTA tour as the obvious next step as a 12 month target.

Tennis36 wrote:

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As 'not thought' Kyle hasn't withdrawn from the Italian futures tournament and the deadline has passed, can he still withdraw late from the tournament and play San Marino? Or is that not aloud?

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 That wouldn't be aloud. Once the withdrawal deadline has past a player is committed to the event so cannot withdraw in order to play another event. For me it is the right call, it doesn't make sense to have a few weeks off and then go straight back in at challenger level.