Kournikova show aside, team tennis an exciting spectacle

Tennis. I might as well have said taxes. Either way, most of you probably reacted with a bored yawn. What is it about the sport that so instantly repels most of my fellow countrymen? At Wednesday night's Sacramento Capitals match, featuring blonde beauty Anna Kournikova, I set out to answer this question.It started with a visit to the sports desk, where my request to cover the Capitals match was met with blank stares telling me, "Tennis? Who cares about tennis?" Still, they gave me the go-ahead, and moments later I secured a spot at Tuesday evening's Capitals press conference at Arden Hills Country Club and Spa.Pulling up to the club, I realized in an instant both the appeal and disinterest for the sport - money. For those who haven't had the pleasure, going to Arden Hills is reminiscent of going to an island vacation resort. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by this beauty and impeccable service every time they set foot on the courts? But that is precisely the point. Tennis is not the everyday man's sport. It takes money - from tennis racquets ($100 or more for anything worthwhile) to club memberships (another $100 or more a month) to new tennis shoes ($60 if you're lucky) - not to mention accessibility. Unlike basketball, where a metal hoop and a garage door can suffice as a court, tennis needs a bit more legitimacy. And any courts open to the public are usually old, unkempt, and lacking lights for nighttime play. "If there was a Little League of tennis there would be attraction," said Laurence Diamond, a Granite Bay resident who attended Wednesday's World Team Tennis event with his wife and daughter, who takes private lessons at Johnson Ranch Racquet Club. "It has the potential to become more mainstream, but you have to take away the barriers."The money factor, coupled with the lack of visible professional tennis on American soil aside from the once-a-year U.S. Open, causes many people to show no love for the sport.That is, until one of the players is incredibly attractive.Russian-born Anna Kournikova garnered much attention when she burst onto the pro circuit in 1996 at the ripe age of 15. The young girl with the huge smile and long, blonde tresses became immediately famous, but not for her tennis skills. During her pro career, media followed her, sponsors offered her million-dollar contracts, and she soon became a household name, despite never winning a singles title and leaving the circuit eight years later because of a back injury. Now, 10 years later, she is still in the tabloids, including a recent slew of accusations that she had an eating disorder. Dating Latin pop singer Enrique Iglesias hasn't hurt much either.Despite her super-stardom, Kournikova was surprisingly gracious at Tuesday's press conference, where she joked with her teammates and shyly smiled at cameras while wearing a loose Adidas track suit. When asked why she continues to be popular after all these years, she honestly replied, "Right now I think there's an incredible and abnormal amount of obsession with tabloids ... but hopefully I can use being in the spotlight in a positive and good way."If one good thing has come of her fame, it's that she's helped make a name for tennis, and for that I am grudgingly grateful.Allstate Stadium at Sunrise Mall - yes, it's in a parking lot - was 177 people shy Wednesday of filling its 4,300-seat capacity. Much to my surprise and delight, the spirited crowd seemed genuinely interested in the sport, not just the Russian racquet princess, who did look suspiciously gaunt. Two bodyguards followed her at a distance wherever she went, but there were no fans mobbing her or males jeering at her.Instead, the match was World Team Tennis at its best. There were nail-biting net points, crowd chants of "What time is it? Break time!," player substitutions in the middle of games, and spirited line challenges complete with a stuffed squid. Intrigued? There are still three home Capitals matches left in the season - today, Monday and Wednesday. Kournikova won't be there, but there will still be great tennis, and in the end, that's the point.- If you're also sick of hearing non-tennis fans pronounce Wimbledon as "Wimpleton," e-mail Sara at sarar@goldcountrymedia.com. To find out more about Capitals tennis, visit www.gocaps.net.