Australian Move Pondered

Australian Open officials, recognizing the long-standing concerns of the top players, are considering moving the first Grand Slam of the season from its spot in January to a later starting date in March.

“This has been on the agenda for a while, but there is no clear and obvious solution,” Tennis Australia President Geoff Pollard said in an interview with Melbourne radio station 3AW.

“It is logical that we are too early and the end of the season is too late. We wouldn’t move unless we were sure that the players would support an Australian circuit in February.”

But such a drastic scenario, which would require the cooperation of the ATP and the WTA, appears remote. One proposal involves the American tournaments, Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, Fla., moving to February and the European tournaments landing in January, International Tennis Federation President Francesco Ricci-Bitti said in the German newspaper Die Welt on Wednesday.

The ITF runs the four Grand Slams, and Ricci-Bitti added that that Wimbledon could be pushed deeper into July, creating a larger block of time between the French Open on clay and Wimbledon on grass. It would not happen before 2005, he said.

That appears more likely than an Australian Open move. Indian Wells and Key Biscayne are two of the more successful Masters Series events, and Indian Wells tournament director Charlie Pasarell has said in the past he wouldn’t want his tournament to be held much earlier in the schedule.

Additionally, tennis officials wouldn’t want to conflict with any of the significant golf events in the desert.

This year, Indian Wells is March 10-16, followed by Key Biscayne.

Times wire services contributed to this report.