However, The ATP Players Aren’t Thrilled By The US Open Prize Money Increase And Monday Final

“It is unfortunate the US Open response did not reflect our views…”

Glad to see the players gave the Monday final decision the finger. USTA is more in touch with $, suits and ties, then the game of Tennis.

December 17th, 2012 at 10:17 am

The ATP is right. Hopefully this is just a temporary solution. It must be the TV contracts that have led to this. How come Wimbledon pulls it off in 13 days while the USO needs 15?

December 17th, 2012 at 10:36 am

Does anybody have an estimate or comparison of revenue percentages for any of the GS:s?

It is a tricky question, as neither the players, the ATP or tournament organizers could do any profit without each other. I think owerall the situation is pretty good at the moment, thinking of the level and amount of matches a fan can see annually. But for example, how would it affect the game of tennis if a drastically bigger slice would be given to the players making it only to the first week. I believe it would be good thing in the long run, as it would distribute funds to a larger amount of players who need money to be able to make sure they have the best training tools, tools that are needed to get to the top. This would make the competition fiercer thus boosting development.

Another question alltogether is does it add owerall fan attraction? When fans grow a love or affection for a player, do they want to see a Rosol put him out no matter how brilliant or flashy the display?

December 19th, 2012 at 10:07 am

>>How come Wimbledon pulls it off in 13 days while the USO needs 15?

What seems to be forgotten from the equation is that for the last 5 years the finals were on Monday, not due to any official “decision” but simply the weather. Unless the US open builds retractable roof for it’s main court, deciding (or wishing actually) to have the final on Sunday would be pointless.

December 19th, 2012 at 1:01 pm

The 2012 U.S. Open revenue is approx $220 million and men’s prize money approx $12 million (about 5% of $220 million), assuming I remembered correctly.

Let’s stop muddling this issue: the ATP — which represents the male players only — are dealing with the issues that relate to the men. Logically, the ATP is only interested in the $2 million increase in the men’s prize money. There is really nothing in the ATP’s statement that suggests ‘From the release, the ATP players “appreciated” the US Open prize money increase of $4 million dollars’. The ATP should be interested in the $2 million that pertains to their prize money.

Of course the men should not accept the increase in number of tournament days to 15 days (with the Monday final). That’s because the US Open is essentially exploiting the market demand for the men’s tournament to generate more overall revenue from the extra day — without offering to give a fair share of that greater pie to the men who work an extra day.

The ATP is really asking for its fair share of the pie, given the contribution of male players to generating the US Open’s total revenue (ticket sales, sponsors, broadcast, hospitality, vendors, etc): “the ATP and its players have asked that the US Open fully recognise the fundamental role of the (male) players in driving US Open revenues, which are the largest in our sport… the objective of ensuring that the (male) players’ share of the revenues at the US Open truly reflects the value that (the male players) generate for the event” — the men want to be fairly compensated, regardless of equal prize money. That’s what their statement really means. Unfortunately the ATP can’t make their appropriate business demands for male players explicit without feminist nutters and their supporters attacking the men as ‘sexist’ in order to pressure the men to accept equal prize money for the women. Just like singles and doubles are treated differently in terms of prize money, the mens tournament and women’s tournament should be treated differently according to revenue generated.

According to the site below on 2012 US Open Tennis Tickets:
http://seatgeek.com/blog/sports/us-open-tennis-tickets-price-2012

“This Year’s Most Expensive Events
….The men’s later rounds of the tournament accounted for the four most expensive sessions of the US Open on the secondary market. The priciest event in the US Open shouldn’t come as a surprise: the Men’s Final matchup came in at $546 per ticket. That was followed by the Men’s Semifinals at $464, and the two quarterfinal sessions round out the top 4.

Tickets to see the women’s matches, meanwhile, sold for far lower prices than the men’s matches.

Most tickets are for sessions with both men’s and women’s matches, so it’s hard to differentiate whether fans are paying to see the male or female competitors. But a ticket to see the Women’s Singles Final session, which has no men’s match along with it, is just the 5th-most expensive session overall at a price of $352 per ticket. That means fans value the men’s two quarterfinal rounds, semifinals round, and final are all higher than the Women’s final.

The numbers show that it’s no doubt that the men’s tournament is the biggest draw for fans.

Ticket Price Trends from 2010 to 2012
Overall, ticket prices for the 2012 US Open have been much more expensive than last year’s Open. The average ticket to a US Open session this year comes in at $280, a 26% raise on last year’s $223 per ticket…

The price of the men’s singles final has risen quite dramatically from the past two years. A ticket to see 2010’s Men’s Singles Final cost an average of $354, and 2011’s was priced at $451 per ticket. This year, though, the price has jumped all the way to $546 for the last day’s session, which includes both the Men’s Singles and the Women’s Doubles Final, making it particularly in demand. Altogether, the final session’s ticket price rose 54% over the past two years, indicating rapidly growing interest in the event. Tickets for this year’s final session are widely available, ranging from $190 for a seat in Section 324 to $7,502 for front row sideline seats in Section 49.”

ATP has to clearly state three things (which it doesn’t seem to be doing):

– How much revenue the US Open has made in 2012 and will likely make in 2013

– What percentage of that revenue was or will be reasonably contributed by the men.

– What amount of prize money do the men require, given their contribution.

December 19th, 2012 at 3:34 pm

@Dave – The “men” will not be working an extra day. There will be 2 men who will be working an extra day. And both of them will be very well compensated for it.

The rest of the field will no be sticking around till the end and this decision makes absolutely no difference to them.

Also, the ATP is looking at the wrong figures. They should not be seeking to balance %age of revenues across tournaments, but rather, %age of profits. I don’t know how that breaks down, but it is the more important factor, IMO.

December 25th, 2012 at 11:18 am