May 12, 2008 - Maria Sharapova created quite a buzz last week when she vented her anger against the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour via her website. Over the weekend, Sharapova reached a compromise with the WTA and yesterday she completed a promotional shoot for them in Rome.
The three-time Grand Slam champion saved herself a hefty fine by agreeing to a scaled-down shoot a day before the start of the BNL Internazionale d’Italia.
Sharapova was opposed to the shoot because she does not like distractions before tournaments, and claimed the WTA threatened to fine her more than $300,000 if she refused.
Sunday’s photo shoot to build publicity for the tour championships was reduced to 90 minutes from several hours, Sharapova said.
The tug-of-war over time commitments is unlikely to have ended permanently, however, and Sharapova remains adamant that players have to stand up for their own rights in these situations.
The withdrawal of No.1-ranked Justine Henin from the tournament in Rome means the WTA will still be missing one significant name in the cast, but the shoot is going ahead in several locations around Rome. Ten players – Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Serena Williams, Anna Chakvetadze, Venus Williams, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Kirilenko and Zi Yan – are all scheduled for the cameras.
At least for now, Sharapova can turn her attention back to tennis where it belongs.
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[…] Over thirty players took part in the film and photographic shoot for the campaign which took place at various locations in Rome, Italy, at the start of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia tournament in May 2008 including Maria Sharapova who initially complained about the WTA’s schedule demands. […]