ATP board member Justin Gimelstob tells USA Today that he is frustrated by the USTA’s decision to extend the U.S. Open to 15 days by moving the men’s final to Monday. In an official release earlier this week, the ATP said it does not support a Monday final and that the U.S. Open should keep a similar schedule to the other Grand Slams, even though they all now have different schedules.
Wimbledon is a 14-day tournament with no play on the middle Sunday, while the Australian Open is played for 14 straight days, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. In 2006, Roland Garros added a 15th day to its schedule, where play opens on a Sunday and ends on a Sunday.
The USTA has said that moving to a Monday final is an experiment that could be changed in the future. The male players had asked for a day in between the semifinal and final, which has now been accomplished with the elimination of Super Saturday, when both men’s semis and the women’s final were played. In 2013, both men’s semis will still be played during the day on Saturday, but the women’s final has been moved to Sunday afternoon, taking the former men’s final spot.
The ATP also said that even though the U.S. Open’s prize money increase of $4 million is its largest since the ATP tour began in 1990, it “remains committed to continuing discussions on this issue, with the objective of ensuring that the players’ share of the revenues at the US Open truly reflects the value that they generate for the event.”
No official was quoted in that press release, which was sent out after 2012 U.S. Open champion Andy Murray was quoted as saying, “I’m pleased that the USTA has modified the US Open schedule to include a day of rest between the semi-finals and final. Together with the prize money increase, it’s good that they’ve taken on board the players’ concerns.”
WTA CEO Stacy Allaster also supported the increase, as did Serena Williams.
Gimelstob took issue with the increase, saying it was not nearly enough. “The disproportionate amount of prize money relative to tournament revenue and the extra day demonstrate the tremendous disconnect from where the players felt the conversations were going,” said Gimelstob.
The U.S. Open increased its prize money an identical amount to what the Australian Open did for next year’s tournament, although the Australian dollar trades at five cents more than the U.S. dollar. Some players had threatened to boycott the Australian Open prior to its announced prize money increase, but once it was announced, they backed off that stance.
U.S. Open officials have yet to decide how to distribute its increase. USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told TENNIS.com that while the USTA “will make the final decision as to the prize money distribution,” they have been and will continue to consult with the players. Australian Open officials recently announced that a large portion of their increase will go to early-round losers.
Former Top 10 player Wayne Ferreira recently told <em>Tennis News Brazil</em> that players should not focus on fighting the Grand Slams for a bigger share of tournament-generated revenue, but should go after their own association, the ATP. Ferreira cited that Grand Slams have consistently upped their prize money while ATP tournaments have not.
For more on this topic, read Peter Bodo's "Monday Night Maneuvers" story.