While what the USATT has to say about the incident is interesting, what they don't say is also intriguing. There is a mention of the players making demands for "increased prize money and other lesser amenities...", but no specifics are given. Is there any reason why this needs to be kept a secret from USATT members? How much extra money was asked for? What were the other lesser amenities that were desired? Better lighting? Nicer flooring? Ball boys/girls? A reduced number of games (best of 3 perhaps?) One can only speculate.

Also, five players are mentioned as defaulting because their demands had not been met, but the sixth player has his default attributed to "other circumstances". Is there any particular reason the name of the player is not officially given, and the other circumstances explained? This information was already provided unofficially on the USATT website by Larry Hodges, so the cat is out of the bag on that one.

The statement finishes by mentioning that the USATT will make "every attempt to keep all parties informed in advance as this process unfolds." Does that include the thousands of interested USATT members, and the many tournament attendees who paid good money but were deprived of watching the quarterfinals and semifinals? At present, it would seem not.

Perhaps there are good reasons for keeping much of the events shrouded in secrecy and vagueness (possible legal repercussions?), but the USATT have not yet explained why this should be the case. Either present all the facts to USATT members, or at least explain why this cannot be done.

After all that negativity, here's a much more positive article to begin the New Year with - the New York Times' article on the 2009 Men's Singles Champion, Michael Landers. It's a very nice writeup of the 15 year old Nationals winner and his support network, without any of the condescension that the media often has about our sport.