Tennis Stars State Case Over Grand Slam Prize Money There were rain delays and lost sessions at the United States Open, pushed again to a Monday men's final. There was a tornado warning and a chair blown onto the court in the midst of the men's semifinal between Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray, the eventual champion. But this Open might end up looking like the calm before the storm. The top men, led by Roger Federer, remain intent on applying pressure on the Grand Slam tournaments over prize money next year, beginning with the Australian Open in January. "I think as a group, they've been led by Roger, who is very intelligent and measured in this," said Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director. Anytime you can have a player council represented by arguably one of the great players of all time, you're going to have some strength. Though few of the major players or officials are prepared to speak publicly about the particulars for fear of compromising the negotiations, it is clear that tension is rising fast, player expectations are high and Grand Slam administrators are increasingly anxious. French Open officials, concerned that their message was not reaching the rank-and-file, recently sent an e-mail to French players seeking to clarify their stance, a move that raised hackles among some tour officials.The ATP World Tour players are seeking much more than another routine pay raise. They want to capitalize on the narrow window provided by their golden age and current solidarity to correct what they perceive as a long-running inequity. Late last year the ATP Player Council, with Federer as its president, began its push for more prize money at Grand Slam tournaments, particularly for early-round losers, in an attempt to address an earning gap in a top-heavy sport. The French Open, Wimbledon and the United States Open responded with larger-than-usual increases, weighted toward early-round losers. The United States Open, for example, included a raise of at least 18 percent for the first three rounds of the singles draw. But the players council made it clear that their main goal was major change in 2013. This is a high-stakes game of numbers but also of identity. The players want to emphasize the Grand Slam tournaments" similarities with ATP events, which are believed to pay between 20 percent and 30 percent of revenue in prize money. The Slams continue to emphasize the differences, which include grass-roots responsibilities, nonprofit status and even the commitment to funding and promoting smaller professional events. "I really don't think it is apples to apples," Tiley said. But some tour events, including the Masters Series tournaments in Rome and Canada, are also run by national federations, and some players question why their efforts should help contribute to the funding of player development programs in the four Grand Slam nations instead of going to more global efforts. The players are believed to be asking for between 12 percent and 13 percent of total revenue. With the Grand Slams committed to equal prize money, that means - with the women along for the ride - the men are effectively demanding about 25 percent of total revenue for prize money. "The ATP is taking the lead in talking to the Slams as well as the directors of the Slams and trying to figure that out," Serena Williams said. It is what it is. I definitely do agree that the players should be reimbursed more than what we are. A 25-percent share would be more in line with men's tour events, but it would represent wrenching change for the Grand Slam tournaments. Based on rough estimates, prize money currently ranges from about 11 percent of revenue at the United States Open to about 17 percent at the Australian Open. In the case of the United States Open, 25-percent share would mean a hike in prize money from about $25 million to more than $60 million. The United States Tennis Association's revenue for 2010, the most recent totals available publicly, was $243 million, with an estimated 80 percent to 85 percent of that coming from the Open. The players are offering little change of their own in return, and if they fail to reach their prize-money goal next year, they are considering a range of potential actions, according to tennis officials familiar with the possibilities. Those include staging alternative events concurrent with the Grand Slam tournaments, stripping ranking points from the Grand Slam tournaments and skipping the Grand Slam tournaments altogether.