The world’s leading tennis players have welcomed the US Open’s announcement of a 20% increase in prize money and agreed not to continue their protests at this year’s tournament as a result. The build up to both the French Open and Wimbledon was overshadowed earlier this year by a media boycott as the players continue to demand a greater share of tournament revenues, but after the US Tennis Association announced a record prize pot of $108m there will be no such disruption at Flushing Meadow. The US Open’s prize money has now increased by 44% since 2024.
At this year’s tournament both singles champions will earn $5.5m and first-round losers will get $140,000, the largest amount in tennis history for making the main draw. In addition, the USTA also announced it will commit $2m to a new player support program, to be used to provide benefits and complement existing pension funds, while all four grand slams confirmed they will set up a joint Player Advisory Council, a development first revealed by the Guardian on Wednesday. The US Open is the first of the slams to make an additional financial commitment on player welfare, which will increase pressure on the others to follow suit.
While the players are understood to welcome the progress made since they first made representations to the slams over prize money, welfare and representation 18 months ago, they will still push for all four tournaments to implement an agreed revenue-sharing formula rather than wait for annual prize money announcements. While this is not yet tied to an agreed revenue-sharing formula, players remain committed to that principle and will continue to work with each of the grand slams toward that goal. The announcement represents a meaningful step forward in giving players a more direct and consistent voice in decisions that affect them.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
