As noted in today’s USA Today, the off-court action could be as interesting as what happens on court at Wimbledon.

The WTA will announce if it intends to keep or ditch on-court coaching (I predict it will go the way of the 9-point tiebreak). A new players’ council will come to power this weekend, including what should be the top three players, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. And the three vacant player representative positions on the ATP board will be filled.

“It’s an exciting weekend prior to any balls being struck,” outgoing players’ council member Paul Goldstein told me this week.

It’s been a busy few weeks for the outgoing 10-member players’ council. In March, they ousted longtime Andre Agassi agent and confidante Perry Rogers, who represented the Americas region. Within the last two weeks, they dumped former top doubles player Jacco Eltingh, who was the European rep. The third players’ rep, onetime ATP communications director Iggy Janovanic (international rep) removed his name from the list of candidates last week.

I’m told that there are 6-7 candidates for the open Americas region seat, including recently retired Justin Gimelstob (who ran last year and lost); James Blake’s brother, Thomas Blake; Norman Canter of Florida-based Renaissance Tennis Management; and former pros Jeff Tarango and Jeff Morrison.

The Sun-Sentinel reported this week that highly respected Ivan Ljubicic, the players’ council president, would be elevated to one of the seven ATP board seats, presumably for the European region.

The international seat will likely be filled by either Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi, Tennis Channel senior vice president David Edges or tennis coach and academy owner Bob Brett.

It should be noted that it’s not the new players’ council that elects the three vacant ATP board positions, but the old, outgoing council (the one Goldstein is on until Saturday night).

Of course, all of these political machinations are aimed at taking more control of the tour. The top players feel their voice has not been heard and that the previous board reps were in cahoots with ATP chief Etienne de Villiers (which may or may not be true). Suffice it to say, it’s hard to see how ATP head Etienne de Villiers, a former Disney executive, will last beyond the Dec. 31 expiration of his contract, if he lasts that long.

Goldstein, who retired last year and is working for a Silicon Valley green-energy startup, said that “communications could have been better” with the departed board reps. The top-60 ranked player seemed encouraged by the possible election of the Big Three.

“It’s pretty neat that highest ranked guys in the world -- for the first time in my 15 years as a pro and maybe ever -- are taking an active interest in the governance of the game,” said Goldstein, who also happens to be my neighbor in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco.

But what’s really hanging over everyone’s head is the Hamburg lawsuit. Hamburg is suing the ATP over its demotion from Masters Series status. The trial, which sources say has already cost the ATP from $3-$7 million, begins July 21. If the ATP loses, it could shake the foundations of the men’s tour. 

“In terms of the future of tour, the result of the Hamburg case is the 800 pound gorilla,” says Goldstein.

I'm zipping off to the airport to fly to London, but I'll have my picks for Wimbledon by Monday.