Tennis players pause campaign over Grand Slam pay

Tennis players have halted their public campaign, the Guardian reported after Sunday's US Open final. The four majors had announced a Grand Slam Player Advisory Council in August, with its launch planned for after the 2026 US Open. The US Open's official announcement described a forum for players and tournaments to discuss the sport's biggest events.

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The Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and US Open said players would help shape the council's membership and operating arrangements. Interested players would be invited to apply. The announcement envisaged discussions covering sporting issues across the four tournaments, giving competitors a regular route to offer feedback beyond their individual appearances at each event.

Welfare and compensation, including prize money, were also included in the proposed discussions. However, the official announcement specified that those subjects would be addressed with each major separately. It cited differences in the tournaments' structures, finances, governance and decision-making processes, rather than proposing one shared mechanism for all four events to set player compensation.

Reporting on the August agreement, Tennis Majors said player representatives regarded the council as progress towards a more consistent role in decisions affecting their careers. The representatives wanted further discussions on membership and procedures to make the forum effective and representative. Their response followed negotiations between players and the Grand Slams that had been running since Roland-Garros in 2025.

The financial demands extended beyond the creation of a council. Tennis Majors reported that players were seeking prize money equal to 22% of Grand Slam revenues by 2030, with gradual increases towards that target. They also sought welfare contributions reaching $12 million from each major by the same year. Those figures were demands, not an announced settlement.

In August, player representatives welcomed the US Open's 20% prize-money increase and its new welfare commitment, Tennis Majors reported. They nevertheless noted that the increase was not linked to an agreed revenue-sharing formula and maintained their support for that principle. The council announcement established a consultation process without itself announcing agreement on those longer-term financial targets.