Show Them The Money!!!

Psst, hey journeyman players...

You're about to get a nice gift from the USTA over the next few years at the U.S. Open. This week, the USTA announced that not only are they adding an additional $4 million to the overall prize money at the 2013 Open (on top of the $4 million increase agreed to in December) but that they will increase the overall prize money to $50 million by 2017. That will essentially be double what the prize money was last year at the U.S. Open. Here's the good stuff about the agreement:

1. This will have a great impact on lower ranked players that most likely make early exits from the tournament. A good share of the money increase will probably go to increasing the early round payouts. This gives those players a better opportunity to offset their travel, coaching and training costs. You have to remember that not everybody on tour is rolling in the sponsorship cash like the big 4. Djokovic made a strong point when he said that players in the top 200 "...deserve to have a better living in the sport."

2. Could this possibly mean that the doubles players might get a pay bump?! I feel that the doubles side of the tour is greatly underrated and under compensated. It would be nice to see a pay bump come their way since we are out of the era where players made a living by playing both singles and doubles.

3. The USTA, ATP and the Player's Council are working together. After having to sit through annoyingly contentious labor disputes in the NFL, NBA and NHL, it is nice to see a professional sport that is able to have meaningful discussion and debate. They were ultimately able to reach a solution that doesn't involve strikes or ridiculous sniping over media outlets for months on end. The USTA also showed it was willing to listen when they made the decision to scrap the Super Saturday format and permanently schedule the men's semis on Friday and the final on Sunday. The players have asked for that the last couple of years and the USTA recognized the tour is a different animal now and that change was necessary.

My one area of concern with the pay bump is the USTA's acknowledgement that they will be taking a hit by increasing the prize money payout. As an employee of a USTA district, we are reliant on funding from U.S. Open revenue. I just don't want to see the resource distribution to districts get impacted in a negative way. We need all the resources we can get to grow the sport and I am positive USTA National knows that. They have said they have a plan and I look forward to hearing what that plan entails.

That's it for now. The Davis Cup countdown is now at 9 days! I'll be doing some blogging from the matches throughout next weekend. The office is going to be certifiably INSANE until it's over. But that's what happens when the biggest tennis event in Idaho history comes to town.

Ps. Captain Courier: If you need a last minute fill in for doubles, I will bring my gear and dress in the red, white and blue. You can count on me!