Rift in Men’s Tennis Appears to Be Growing

It has been years since the words strike, boycott or work stoppage have been mentioned in professional tennis, but an e-mail indicates the simmering conflict between the ruling bodies of the sport has brought those words into the dialogue.

The recent attempt and failure, for the moment, of the ATP to secure more money from the Grand Slam tournaments -- its opening proposal was a $50-million request -- has led to questions about the organization’s next move. Though considered a remote option, the specter of a player no-show by the men at the U.S. Open is a possibility.

Australian Open semifinalist Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, who is spearheading the new player trade association, the International Men’s Tennis Assn., addressed the dispute in correspondence to his membership this week, updating the group of about 60 or so players. Last week, the IMTA appeared before the Grand Slam Committee in Paris, one day before the ATP presented its case and made its financial proposal.

“The ATP is practically in a panic and will do whatever it can to intimidate us into quitting,” Ferreira wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Times. “They say we are jeopardizing their chances of getting money from the GSC or getting new sponsors. I say (ATP Chief Executive Mark) Miles has had ten years to do all of it and instead [has] overseen the continuous decline of tennis.” Miles will receive a fuller assessment of the players’ sentiment at a meeting two days before Wimbledon starts on June 23.

“We are not sure if this will lead to the ATP encouraging the players to boycott the U.S. Open or if the money talks will be prolonged and take place over the next couple of years,” said Ferreira.

On Monday, Christian Bimes, president of the French tennis federation, said in his post-French Open news conference that he didn’t think the players would strike and felt the ATP should stick to representing the players, adding that the Slams should take control of the game.

Officials from the United States Tennis Assn., which is expected to announce prize money for the Open next week, have declined comment about a possible boycott, as has the ATP.

Ferreira, in a telephone interview from London on Friday, said that the fledgling group is staying out of the money situation between the ATP and Grand Slam Committee. “It’s a dicey situation,” he said. “If the ATP doesn’t get the money, we don’t want to be blamed for it.” The IMTA has been supportive of the ATP’s attempt to secure more money for the Slams. Ferreria, though, said he does not feel a no-show at the U.S. Open would be the best answer.

Ferreira said he does regret releasing the names of IMTA members, drawing the scrutiny of ATP officials. Even before the release of names, one supporter of the group refused to talk about IMTA at Indian Wells, nervous because an ATP employee was standing nearby.

Mike Bryan, who won the French Open men’s doubles title with his twin brother Bob on Saturday, said that Gary Muller, a member of the ATP’s board of directors as a player representative, recently approached him about his IMTA membership.

“He came up to me and just asked me why I signed,” Mike Bryan said Friday from London. “He was just telling me basically what I wanted to hear, but I didn’t really say anything. He wanted to take me back to the ATP’s side.

“But I just said I need to see some more action. We gave it a decent amount of thought.”

Doubles specialist Mark Knowles is on the ATP Player Council and remains an IMTA member.

“I did sign, but I am kind of stuck in the middle and it’s probably in my best interests to refrain from talking about the IMTA too much,” Knowles said. “Really, my allegiance is to the ATP Council, but whether we want to admit it or not, tennis has been going downhill.... I think of [IMTA] as a way to see our shortcomings in the operation and in the infrastructure.”