Tennis Council Tries to Lure Players

Less than 24 hours before the Assn. of Tennis Professionals was to announce its schedule for its own 1990 tour, the Men’s Tennis Council made a last-ditch effort Thursday to bring the players back into the Grand Prix format.

Apparently, it was a futile effort.

“We’re going to go ahead with our tour,” said Ray Moore, one of the founders of the ATP.

Marshall Happer, administrator of the Men’s Tennis Council, announced a revised Grand Prix format for 1990 and for 4 years after that. The ATP had rejected a somewhat similar format in October, but the new plan that Happer will present to the players includes significant changes.

In one, the players would have 50% of the voting rights of the Men’s Tennis Council. Currently, the players have 3 of 9 votes, the other 6 divided evenly between the International Tennis Federation and tournament representatives.

Happer’s plan also details the payment of $3.9 million in bonuses for top-ranked players to sign with the Men’s Tennis Council tour. For example, the No. 1-ranked player would receive $300,000, plus $300,000 from Masters points. The No. 2-ranked player would get $250,000 and $250,000 from Masters points.

The Men’s Tennis Council plan also reduced from 14 to 8 the minimum number of players’ tournament commitments, besides Grand Slam events.

In addition, the bonus plan would pay the top-ranked player $100,000 a tournament, up to 4 tournaments, for playing in events beyond the required minimum number. The Nos. 2, 3, and 4 players would receive $75,000 under similar circumstances.

Happer said he hoped that the players would listen to the revamped proposal and drop their plans for a breakaway tour.

“I hope they’re going to reconsider,” Happer said. “Hopefully, the tennis family will find it a good plan.”

However, there is discord in the tennis family. Some representatives of the ATP scoffed at the revised plan, which was formulated with help from the International Tennis Federation but with no input from the players or the tournament directors.

“It’s embarrassing,” Moore said. “What he proposes is not an MTC council format. Whose format is it? The players didn’t vote. The tournament directors didn’t vote.”

The Men’s Tennis Council has governed the pro tour since 1974, and Happer’s announcement seemed to be a desperate effort by the council to retain control of the professional game.

Happer would not speculate on whether the council could deliver its own tour in 1990 to oppose the ATP tour, but he indicated that would be a possibility.

It is not clear how the council would run a tour without players.

Happer could not explain why the council waited so long to make its best offer. Moore said it might have made a difference if the council had come forward earlier with the revised format.

“If we had seen this a couple of months ago, I think we would have seriously considered it,” Moore said. ‘ ‘ But now it’s too late.”