Men Tennis Players Want Fewer Tournaments and More Money at Majors

Written by: Staff on 16th January 2012

Men Tennis Players Want Fewer Tournaments and More Money at Majors

Sam Querrey of the USA returns the ball to Victor Hanescu of Romania during their first round match of the Chennai Open 2012 tennis tournament in Chennai, India, 03 January 2012. Hanescu won 6-3 and 6-4. EPA/NATHAN G |

Calls for a players’ strike began at last year’s US Open, and they intensified at the annual ATP World Tour players’ meeting in Melbourne on Saturday night just 36 hours before the beginning of the Australian Open. They could be implemented later this year at either the French Open or Wimbledon

The overwhelming general mood of the meeting, held at the Sofitel Hotel, was one of anger and a need for change. No actual plans for a strike were made and no vote taken but ATP Player council chairman Roger Federer, who on his way to winning the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London late last year described talk of a strike as “nonsense”, is now in a distinct minority.

While the overcrowded ATP calendar still requires attention, the true main contentious area is the prize money on offer at the four majors. And while the champions at the Australian Open are set to be rewarded with a record $2.441,673, the actual percentage of the tournament’s revenue dedicated to prize money at the majors is perceived to be too low. This fortnight at the Melbourne Park it is $26.7 million.

Figures quoted from the United States, declared 13% of the revenue at Flushing Meadows went back to the players which compares distinctly unfavorably to rivals sports such as basketball (57% in the NBA) and American football (close to 50% in the NFL).

By means of Twitter, Alex Bogomolov Jr., the world no.34 who switched to play under Russian nationality at the end of last year, enthused: “A players strike here at the Australian Open?? YES SIR!! Finally all the players united! Waited for 10 years for this! Witnessing history in Tennis!”

Bogomolov refused the opportunity of elaborating in a press conference and nobody from the ATP World Tour, least of all new chief executive and chairman Brad Drewett, was prepared to go on the record. But Bogomolov’s former compatriot Sam Querrey would admit: “I want as much prize money as possible for the players at the Slams. I’d love to see that go up.”

However Rafael Nadal chose his Spanish language section of the no.2 seed’s pre-tournament press conference to divulge a major difference in opinion with Federer, who is not prepared to lead the players in a unified front.

Nadal tried to demonstrate the Federer attitude by saying” ‘It’s all well and good for me, I look like a gentleman and the rest can burn themselves’. For him it’s good to say nothing but everyone is entitled to have their own opinions.”

The translation of Nadal’s thoughts continued: “He likes the circuit. I like the circuit. It’s much better than many other sports but that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be better. It doesn’t mean there are some things about the tour that couldn’t change. The tour is fine, but there are some things that are bad. That’s all we’re saying.

“The vast majority of players have this same opinion. He’s [Federer] got a different opinion. If the vast majority have one opinion, and a small minority think differently, maybe it’s them who are wrong.”

From other prominent observers, there was a general condemnation for a strike call. Former world no.4 and current All England Club committee man at Wimbledon, Tim Henman, said: “What the players are paid at Grand Slam events is very, very good.”

Veteran coach Nick Bollettieri added: “The public will not be sympathetic if the players go on strike. They will look at all the money.”