WITHDRAWAL THREAT Americans Vote For Open Tennis

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31595, 5 February 1968, Page 22

WITHDRAWAL THREAT Americans Vote For Open Tennis

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright;

CORONADO (California).

The United States Lawn Tennis Association has voted overwhelmingly in favour of open tennis and has threatened to leave the International Lawn Tennis Federation if it does not revise its rules. Delegates voted 16-1 in favour of a motion to send delegates to a special I.L.T.F. meeting tentatively scheduled for March 23 in Paris and tell the world tennis governing body it should change its rules.

Mr R. Kelleher, president of the association, said yesterday that he had been given a “strong hand” to use in dealing with the LL.T.F. “Our organisation has told me to go to the international federation and tolerate no dilatory action,” Mr Kelleher said.

“We want changes and we want them now,” Mr Kelleher said. “I was surprised by the voting because we had expected it to be close. "It is only a matter of time before we have open tennis. We would like to see it come within the framework of the international group. “We do not want to defy the International Lawn Tennis Federation, but we must have realistic changes in the rules so they can be observed and enforced.” Mr Kelleher will fly to Paris next week-end to meet with LL.T.F. members from the major countries and set the agenda, time and place of a special I.L.T.F. meeting, tentatively set for March 23 in Paris. The American motion urged that the I.L.T.F. allow members a “substantial measure of self-determination” in respect of tournaments open to both professional and amateur players.

Special Meeting A special meeting of the U.S.L.TA.. was called for within 20 days after the Paris meeting to empower Mr Kelleher to resign from the I.L.T.F. if changes were not forthcoming and the world body did not clarify what it meant by an amateur in tennis. The American vote, following the lead of the British and Australian Lawn Tennis Associations, took observers by surprise. It had seemed a close thing right up to the vote, and the result was cheered by 120 non-voting delegates present Before the meeting Mr Kelleher had said only two of the 17 convention delegates were committed to favour open tennis. Last July the British Lawn

Tennis Association voted to conduct the first open tennis tournament at Wimbledon. The four-day American meeting also voted to explore the possibility of including the administration of professional tennis within the organsation of the U.S.L.T.A.

This proposal was unanimously approved, as was a third resolution to retain the distinction between amateur and professional players.

The administration committee of the U.S.L.T.A. last November recommended abolition of the distinction but delegates went against the committee proposal on Saturday.

The dissenting vote was cast by Mr R. C. Sorlien, of Philadelphia, who told the convention that an unlimited number of open tennis events might do “irreparable harm” to amateur tennis.

He suggested that a few open tennis meets should be held and the results studied. Mr M. L. Tressel, a former U.S.L.T.A. president and a non-voting delegate, also criticised the manner of the move towards open tennis.

Outvoting Risk He called the withdrawal threat a “shotgun approach” and said that gaining I.L.T.F. approval of open tennis was “a matter of mathematics." He said the United States, England, France and Australia each had 12 votes, while the total vote in the I.L.T.F. was 247. The four major nations might be outvoted by the smaller nations in the 60country organisation.