Without N'godrella

French Win Tennis Even

The pattern set at the Tahiti Games seems to have been repeated in almost every sport at Guam, and tennis was no exception. New Cale donia had most success—as was ex pected months before, because no one could beat the great Wanaro N’Godrella who, PIM reported at Papeete, “led, everybody followed”.

But N’Godrella didn’t play at Guam. To every keen tennis fan thinking of the game rather than of its politics, it was a great disappoint ment, but no one was more dis appointed than he was.

With nine gold medals from three previous Games, he was confident that he would take another three at Guam but several territories, includ ing the New Hebrides, charged that he was a professional and, as such, barred from the Games. Ranked number five in France, he is a mem ber of the French Davis Cup team and has played at a number of inter national tournaments including the US Open at Forest Hills, Wimble don, the French Open and the Aus tralian Open. And, he’s taken money.

When his position was questioned at Guam, the SPG Council asked the International Tennis Federation office in Melbourne for a ruling. They said he was a professional. Mr N’Godrella appealed to the federation office in Paris. They said he was not a pro fessional but a “player”.

The London office had the last word. “He’s a professional”.

He was sad and disgusted, he said.

“I’m not an amateur, but I’m not a professional either”, he explained.

“Today, there are only two categories of tennis players as established by the federation. Either you are a pro fessional or you’re a player, and I belong to the latter group.

“A professional plays for the money and tennis is his full-time job.

We play for the competition and the exposure and the money we get from the international circuit doesn’t often cover our expenses”, Mr N’Godrella, who is employed by a sporting goods company in Paris, expressed the hope that, in future, the people involved in Games tournaments would somehow realise that there are now no amateurs in international tennis, just professionals and players.

With him out of the running, com petition was more open, at least so far as the players were concerned, but the French still dominated.

French Polynesia and New Caledonia took two golds each. Papua New Guinea took the remaining gold.

Bad weather plagued the competi tion all the week and two bronzes were not decided.

As with lawn tennis, so it was with the table variety—almost a complete sweep by the French. French Poly nesia had five golds, four silver and a bronze, Fiji two golds, New Cale donia a gold and silver and PNG one gold, silver and bronze.