Tennis champions criticize "Roland Garros"

A group of the world's top tennis stars expressed their deep disappointment regarding the prize money allocated for the French Open (Roland Garros), criticizing the lack of progress in addressing the complaints they had previously raised.

Twenty players, including world number one Italian Jannik Sinner, world number one Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, world number two Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Serbian Novak Djokovic, American Coco Gauff, and Polish Iga Swiatek, sent a letter to the four major Grand Slam tournaments in May of last year, demanding a larger share of the revenue and an increased role in decision-making.

The British news agency (PA Media) reported that despite the positive signals previously shown by the major tournaments regarding their willingness to engage in dialogue, players' frustration has increased, prompting the same group, which includes most of the top ten ranked players in the global professional tennis associations, to issue an official statement.

The organizing committee of the French Open announced earlier this month an overall prize money increase of 9.5% compared to last year, with the men's and women's singles champions each receiving 2.8 million euros (3.3 million dollars).

This announcement was not well received by the players, who confirmed that the increase in the tournament's revenue means that their actual share of the profits has decreased compared to 2024, dropping to less than 15%, which is far from their target of 22%.

Players also pointed out that this increase seems minimal compared to the 20% jump in prize money at the US Open last year and the nearly 16% increase in prize money at the Australian Open last January.

The players' complaints included other key points, notably the neglect of demands for investment in social welfare programs, including contributions to pension funds, and the lack of any tangible progress regarding player representation at the administrative levels responsible for decision-making.

The statement noted that while Roland Garros is on track to achieve record revenues, players are receiving a diminishing share of the value they help generate.