WIMBLEDON, England - What if there was a Wimbledon and nobody came?
More than 80 male pro players agreed Saturday to play in alternative tournaments set up by the ATP if disagreements with the Grand Slam events about prize money and other issues aren't resolved.
About 120 players met at the All England Club two days before the start of Wimbledon. The primary topic was the ongoing talks with the four majors.
"If, for any of the Grand Slams, we ever got to the point where we felt like progress was not possible, then our choice would be to create other options for guys to play. It's not something anybody wants to see happen," ATP chief executive Mark Miles said.
"We want to be prepared for the possibility - however undesirable or unlikely - that we conclude we just cannot resolve the issues."
In March, the men's and women's tours urged the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Australian Open to commit more profits to prizes, promotion, health benefits and pension programs. Other discussions include the length of the offseason and more combined tournaments.
The groups met during the French Open, and the Grand Slam tournaments announced they rejected a request for more money.
Since then, the ATP's negotiating group - Miles, Todd Woodbridge, Richard Krajicek and Todd Martin - met with representatives from three of the Grand Slams.
Miles said more players will be given the chance to "commit themselves contractually to participating in other events if we ever got to that point." He emphasized that Saturday's meeting showed a consensus by the players to try to make progress in negotiations.
Prize money at ATP events decreased 10 percent over the past three years to about $55-million in 2003. The men's prize money rose 13 percent to a total of $22.4-million last year.
The U.S. Tennis Association said Thursday that the U.S. Open singles champions each will win $1-million, the largest paychecks in Grand Slam history. The tournament's total prize money will rise to $17.07-million, about a $1-million jump - nearly twice the size of the increases the past three years.
