Other Side of Tennis Stardom
The news about the robbery at Anna Chakvetadze’s house outside Moscow, Russia, yesterday sent shivers through the tennis world again. Evidently, Chakvetadze, who had just returned form an exhibition event in Belgium against Justine Henin, was tied up by masked robbers for a half hour and her father was hit over the head while the robbers made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and goods. Her parents and a maid were also tied up during the robbery. This scary
series of events highlights the fact that professional tennis players are very high-profile international athletes and celebrities. As a result, they are “targets”… In the early 1990s, Monica Seles was attacked while she sat down for a break between games during a match in Germany. Her assailant was a deranged man and never even went to jail for a crime which essentially ruined Seles’ career when she was at the height of the game. Since then, security has been increased at tennis and sporting events around the world. Other events such as September 11th have also heightened security at major sporting events which could be targets for terrorists. The sad reality is that being famous creates personal risks for professional athletes. Hopefully, this attack on Chakvetadze will not hamper her preparations for the 2008 season. At the same time, it is a reminder to the rest of the tennis and sports worlds that they need to be extra vigilant of their personal safety at all times.
|| Comments (0)
