Officials to address players’ concerns

Australian Open prize-money issues threaten participation.

SYDNEY: Tennis Australia is confident players will not boycott the Australian Open over a prize-money disagreement, but it is taking the threat seriously.

The Sunday Times reported players on the ATP Tour were considering a boycott of January’s tournament in a bid to gain a higher percentage of Grand Slam event revenues for themselves. Australian Open director Craig Tiley said he did not view the reported threats to the opening Grand Slam of the season with alarm.

“We’re working on a compensation plan for the 2013 event,” he said in a statement. “We’re keen to ensure it addresses a lot of the issues players have been raising with us in our ongoing discussions.”

While this year many lower-ranked players pocketed $21,600 for a first-round defeat at the Australian Open, some players struggle to make ends meet during the year, as they pay for much of their own expenses and travel.

“The problem is that the players that are ranked about 100 and lower are not making sufficient money to support themselves right throughout the year,” said Tiley.

A meeting, which included ATP players’ council president Roger Federer, was held in New York on Friday before the start of the US Open. The world number one made it clear that he would not reveal any details of what was discussed.

“As long as I’m president of the player council it’s always going to stay behind closed doors what exactly has been talked about,” said Federer. But Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, has previously spoken about the issue — remarking on the wide gap between the percentage of player revenues in the NBA and Grand Slam tennis.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2012.