Sharapova threatened with $300K fine if she skips filming a commercial
Who's the pro?
World No. 3 Maria Sharapova has blasted the ruling body of women’s tennis over its demands for top players ahead of this month’s Italian Open in Rome. The Australian Open champion is furious after being threatened with a $300,000 fine if she does not participate in a publicity event before the Tier 1 tournament.
“I want all my fans to know that the WTA Tour is forcing me and several of the other top players to do a four-hour commercial shoot for WTA Tour marketing materials,” Sharapova told her Web site.
“They want me to do this shoot on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of the Rome tournament after flying 12 hours from Los Angeles.
“I have set my own personal rules when it comes to doing shoots and I never do shoots before tournaments because they are mentally draining and I want to just focus on my tennis.
So, who rules? A professional athlete’s focus before a competition or the advertising scheme of a sports federation?
Posted: Sat - May 3, 2008 at 03:41 PM