THE SIDELINES : Grand Slam Backers Beef Up Control

LONDON — Organizers of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments have joined forces to strengthen their control of the French and U.S. Opens, Wimbledon and the Australian championships.

The International Tennis Federation, which coordinates the events, said in a statement today that the newly formed Grand Slam Committee is necessary “to maintain a uniform policy” for the world’s most important tournaments.

Next year, the men’s professional tour is to be run by the players’ union, the Assn. of Tennis Professionals, without any input from the international federation or the current governing body of the men’s game, the Men’s Pro Council.

The Grand Slam tournaments and Davis Cup will continue to be administered by the federation, however, and the Grand Slam Committee will be responsible for imposing rules, regulations and code of conduct for its four events and for selecting supervisors and officials.