The Professional Tennis Association said the French Open prize dispute shows why the way tennis is run is being questioned and warned that without structural reform, the sport will remain locked in repeated disputes and incremental changes.
Leading players, including Aryna Sabalenkova, made the French Open organizers a larger share of revenue, with the tournament’s €61.7 million ($72.32 million) in winnings still trailing the other three Grand Slams despite a 9.5% increase for 2026.
In a statement this week, the players expressed their “deep disappointment” and said a boycott was possible if the gap with the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon was not closed.
“We commend and fully support the players for stepping up and fighting for what they deserve: a fair share of the revenue they help generate,” the PTPA said in a statement to Reuters. “Deep structural changes are desperately needed in tennis.”
The disparity in prize money remains clear across the majors. The Australian Open offered an increased prize pool of A$111.5 million ($80.61 million) in January, while the US Open paid out $90 million and Wimbledon 53.5 million pounds ($72.55 million) in 2025. French Open organizers have been asked for comment by Reuters. The tournament starts on May 24.
The French Open said last month it was committed to supporting the qualifying tournament and the first rounds of the main draw with bigger increases, saying those players needed the money the most to finance their seasons. The Grand Slams operate under different financial models than the ATP and WTA Tours, with prize money set independently rather than through a centralized system.
Sabalenka said players focused on the sport’s biggest tournaments and supported calls for a 22% allocation, in line with what the ATP and WTA offer at 1,000-level events combined. “I feel like the show is on us,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said in Rome ahead of this year’s Italian Open. “I feel like without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and it wouldn’t be as much fun. We definitely deserve to be paid more.”
While the latest tie was led by the sport’s biggest names, players further down the ladder have long argued that pay structures affect their ability to cover travel, coaching and medical costs over the 11-month calendar. The players also said this week that their social security proposals had gone unanswered and that there had been no meaningful progress towards fair representation in Grand Slam decision-making.
The PTPA said the complaints reflected issues already under legal scrutiny in a class-action lawsuit filed last year. The organization was co-founded in 2020 by Novak Djokovic and Vašek Pospísil with the stated goal of being the voice of the players and a catalyst for change.
“Tennis lags behind other global sports in all meaningful metrics because of its structure,” the PTPA said. “Until this is addressed directly and comprehensively, progress will remain incremental and players will remain stuck in the same cycle of pushing for more prize money season after season. That’s exactly what the PTPA and the lawsuit against the Grand Slams and the ATP and WTA Tours are meant to change.”
The French Open prize money dispute has therefore expanded into a wider argument about how the game is run, how revenue is shared and how much say players have in the decisions that shape the sport.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
06 May 2026 16:25 IST
