“We welcome the increase in prize money for the 2013 Australian Open and acknowledge the ongoing efforts of Tennis Australia to recognize the role of the players in the success of the tournament. We also look forward with confidence to continuing these successful discussions with a view to a longer-term understanding.”—Brad Drewett, ATP chief executive and president.
That comment was Drewett’s official response to Tennis Australia’s decision to beef up prize money at the Australian Open to $31.1 million, a hefty increase of $4.15 million. If you’re anything like me, you’re struck by the tepid, almost insulting nature of the reply (not that I disagree with the sentiments).
Note that Drewett refers not to the largesse or well-executed nature of the event, but to the “role of the players in the success of the tournament.” And in the key sentence, Drewett refers to “continuing discussions” and a potential “longer-term understanding” with Tennis Australia. I read that as tantamount to Drewett saying, “We’re not circus elephants; you can’t just throw us peanuts and expect us to stand on footstool and dance a jig.”
In some quarters, perhaps even within the hall of Tennis Australia’s executive offices, the big bump was seen as an attempt to placate players who had been whispering the “b” word—boycott—if they weren’t given a larger slice of the Grand Slam revenue pie. Was this a preemptive strike to take the edge off the restless players’ case and seize the high ground in further discussions? Drewett’s comment suggests that he suspects as much, even as spear-carriers on the tour expressed satisfaction with the deal. Eric Butorac, a doubles specialist and vice-president of the ATP Player’s Council, told TENNIS.com:
“I was really impressed with what [Australian Open Tournament director] Craig Tiley and [Tennis Australia chief executive] Steve Woods were able to put together. I think I can speak for all the players when I say that we'll be in Melbourne in January with smiles on our faces.”
There you have it—a classic good-cop/bad-cop scenario. Butorac expresses the gratitude of the rank-and-file (as a journeyman, Butorac is of the class of player most likely to benefit from the prize-money increase), while Drewett fires a shot across the bow of the Grand Slams, warning them that the ATP’s discontented work force isn’t going to be bought off or co-opted quite so easily—or cheaply.