Top tennis players end 18-month campaign after Grand Slam Player Advisory Council formed
The world's top tennis players have agreed to halt their public campaign against Grand Slam tournaments over prize money and player welfare, according to the Guardian. The move follows the creation of a Grand Slam Player Advisory Council and comes after a media boycott at the French Open and a planned boycott at Wimbledon that was called off after concessions.
The world's top tennis players have agreed to end their 18-month public campaign against Grand Slam tournaments over prize money and player welfare, according to reporting by the Guardian. The truce follows the creation of a Grand Slam Player Advisory Council, which all four major tournaments have now established.
Players announced the end of the campaign in a statement released after the men's US Open final on Sunday, September 13. According to the Guardian, the players said: "Now that a formal council exists to carry this work forward, the public phase of the campaign led by the unified group of top players comes to a close."
The campaign had escalated with a media boycott at the French Open this year. A similar boycott planned for Wimbledon was called off after the All England Lawn Tennis Club made concessions, according to the Guardian's reporting. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka were the most vocal players lobbying on behalf of the locker room, while Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the campaign last month.
Players had called for three things, per the Guardian: a greater share of tournament revenues from the four major tournaments to be paid in prize money, a contribution from the grand slam events to player welfare and pension provision, and a formal role in decision-making through the creation of a player council. The Grand Slam Player Advisory Council addresses the third demand.
On the financial front, the numbers tell a mixed story. Players estimate that more than $30 million of the prize-money growth reflects incremental gains above the rate of growth in the years before the campaign began, according to the Guardian. Prize money across the grand slam tournaments has grown to $415.6 million in total since the players' formal proposal was submitted on July 31, 2025. However, prize money remains at about 15% of revenues at the slams, falling significantly short of the players' target of 22%. Only the French Open has indicated it will introduce a revenue-sharing formula, per the Guardian, while the other three grand slams have not committed to ongoing revenue-sharing mechanisms. The US Tennis Association agreed to make a $2 million contribution to player welfare at the US Open this year.
Players reserved the right to restart the campaign should the council fail to deliver on their aims, according to the Guardian.
Players claim $30 million in incremental prize-money gains since their formal proposal on July 31, 2025, though prize money remains at about 15% of revenues, short of their 22% target.
The Grand Slam Player Advisory Council's first substantive proposal cycle will determine whether the truce holds: if the council moves toward revenue-sharing commitments from the remaining three slams or closes the gap toward the 22% target, the institutional model works; if negotiations stall, players will resume public pressure.
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