Anyone for tennis? A game for super athletes, superstars and big business. This week South Africans got a dose of power tennis when Amanda Coetzer and Anna Kournikova brought home some of their own brand of stardom, with three exhibition matches around the country and R1-million at stake. But what turns a tennis player into a superstar and is there a difference?
Even glamour magazines are scathing when it comes to the debate, 'committed sportswoman or athletic model?' The latest Cosmopolitan has a headline, 'The Anna Kournikova Phenomenon - beautiful, very rich, not that hot at tennis'. But very little seems to faze the Russian superstar.
Anna's road to stardom started at an early age when it is reported her parents sold one of their TV sets to buy her a tennis racquet for Christmas.
Derek: 'You got a very special Christmas present at the age of five, according to an article. Was it a tennis racquet?'
Anna: 'Well, a lot of articles don't know much what they're writing about, so that's not true. I didn't get any Christmas presents or racquets at the age of five. I started playing tennis just in a club, where my parents brought me to. I was just enrolled in a group twice a week from the age of five to seven.'
At 20, Anna Kournikova is the highest-earning female tennis player on the circuit, despite not having won any major tournaments, even topping Martina Hingis. Constantly followed by the media, her reputation for not being forthcoming in interviews is renowned. Before our meeting we were coached heavily by her promoters on how to get a better response from her. Apparently she loves animals and her recent safari at Sabi Sabi was a good way to try and break through the ice.
Derek: 'Being somebody who is hounded by the media and the public, it must be very special just being somewhere where you can be yourself and quiet and with nature?'
Anna: 'Well I can be myself basically anywhere - in my room at home or just here, it doesn't matter. But in terms of quietness, yeah, it was really quiet and that's why I want to go back there and spend maybe more time. '
But even in the wild Anna finds time for moments in the spotlight. Years of practice as a young girl it seems, when she was spotted by a local tennis scout in Russia, and a few years later at age 12 when she was sent to the US to Nick Bolletierri's famed tennis academy, where she flourished as a tennis player.
Derek: 'Nick compared you to John MacEnroe. Was that because of your style or your temperament?'
Anna: 'I've never heard him compare me to John MacEnroe.'
Derek: 'Only in the magazines.'
Anna: 'No, I really don't know if I should believe the quotes or the comparisons in the magazines until from the person.'
Derek: 'I guess your life would have changed after the Federation Cup when you were 14, when people really started to notice you?'
Anna: 'I don't think it changed at all after the Federation Cup because I was kind of already before that in the spotlight, and as soon as I came to that place I was in the spotlight, so I was really used to it.'
Derek: 'You must be totally sick of the debate of your looks and about how much publicity you get?'
Anna: 'No, I'm not sick of it. I can't change it, so why should I be sick about it'
One person who doesn't seem to be affected by the fame of the game is the girl from Hoopstad in the Free State, who started playing tennis in the back yard with her father Nico. Amanda Coetzer has reached world rankings as high as number three.
Amanda: 'My dad started all of us. I've got three sisters. He taught us. I think he just wanted us to do a sport and do something fairly well. I think that was the main aim.'
Derek: 'When you look at what's happened in your life, are you very grateful for that court in the back yard in Hoopstad where it all started?'
Amanda: 'Yeah I am. It's strange how it all came about... it just kind of all fell into place. I never really dreamt of doing what I'm doing, and also for doing it as long as I have done it.'
Amanda Coetzer has been the ray of hope for South Africa in women's tennis over the last decade. But at age 30 she still commands respect for her tenacity and speed around the courts. At only 5'2', in pre-metric terms, she is one of the smallest players on the circuit and has had to rely on a tactical game much more than most.
Derek: 'Do you have to play differently?'
Amanda: 'It's something I had to deal with even when I was playing in South Africa in the juniors. I was the smallest when I was under-10, so I really had to develop my game around that and I had to rely on more of a defensive game, rather than trying to overpower and hit winners.'
Winners are what the modern game of tennis is all about. Even on the women's circuit, the bigger the shot the better. That is what makes players like Anna Kournikova so highly sought-after. A combination of shot-maker and pretty face, she is one of the most sponsored, marketed and photographed athletes in the world.
But even her fans felt she'd overstepped the mark by advertising sports bras with the slogan 'Only the Balls Bounce'.
Derek: 'Do you think that was getting close to the line, as far as marketing goes?'
Anna: 'Close to what line?'
Derek: 'Close to the line of what is acceptable to fans and everybody else.'
Anna: 'Well, I think that first of all this is a sports bra, and second of all, there's much worse stuff going on in the world than that.'
Derek: 'Would you model lingerie?'
Anna: 'No, we're not talking about that right now.'
Derek: 'You might?'
Anna: 'Like I said...'
Derek: 'Okay.'
Although much is made of Anna's good looks, she has consistently risen in the rankings every year sitting comfortably in the top 10, until her ankle injury in March.
Derek: 'Do you think the media concentrates too much on the sensual side, rather than her playing ability?'
Amanda: 'I think she's a great tennis player, and if she wasn't a great tennis player maybe she wouldn't get as much attention. There are a lot of good-looking, nice girls on the tour, but they don't play as well as Anna does. She brings something else to the game that's really great for the game.'
The fact is that sex appeal and drama puts bums on seats, and thanks to players like Anna and the Williams sisters, women's tennis is big business. In fact, it's reported that 75% of Americans prefer watching the fairer sex.
Derek: 'I think she is part of the formula that has seen women's tennis revive really.'
Amanda: 'There're just a lot of interesting personalities and different types of games on the tour right now that's making the women's game great.'
Derek: 'And I think you're part of that equation.'
Amanda: 'I think we all form some part in it. I think we're all adding to it. It's a very healthy circuit at the moment.'
A healthy circuit is how Amanda describes it but there are some underlying issues that still plague the sport. The serve-dominated men's game is losing popularity to the women's longer and now more powerful rallies. But the issue of equal prize money is still under question.
Derek: 'Has the prize money moved with the times? Do you think there's equality when it comes to what the women are paid on court?'
Anna: 'I don`t really have an opinion on that. I don't know, I don't really pay attention to that.'
Anna's somewhat cool disposition turns to ice whenever questions are of a deeper or more personal nature. Even sensitive issues like 'equal pay for equal play' don't seem to matter too much to her.
For both these young women it seems that the sky's the limit, whether it`s from the power of their game or the length of their skirts. With fame and fortune at their heels, they still have a few aces up their sleeves.