Wed, July 22, 2026
French Open becomes first Grand Slam to show a willingness to commit to a revenue-sharing model for prize money
The French Open has become the first Grand Slam out of the four, also including the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, to show a willingness to commit to a revenue-sharing model to determine prize money.
The French Open told Larry Scott, former Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Chair and Chief Executive who is leading the players’ campaign against the Grand Slams, that it was willing to introduce this model a couple weeks ago at Wimbledon.
The US Open, which is the next upcoming Grand Slam set to begin in August, will announce its prize money total at the beginning of next month, and so members of the tennis community are eager to find out if it will follow suit in regard to the revenue-sharing model, especially with the introduction of the US Tennis Association’s (USTA) new Chief Executive, Craig Tiley. However, before taking over the USTA, Craig Tiley was both the CEO of Tennis Australia and the Australian Open Tournament Director.
Players currently expect 16% of each Grand Slam’s revenue to be allocated to prize money and for this to increase to 22% by 2030, and even though all the Grand Slams have increased prize money, players also demand a revenue-sharing model so that their earnings would automatically rise if tournament revenue increases.
Last year, the U.S. Open prize pool was $90 million, compared to $75 million the year before. This year, the Australian Open prize pool was AUD $111.5 million, a 16% increase from the year prior.
Tennis Australia’s then Chief Executive, Tiley, stated: “This 16% increase demonstrates our commitment to supporting tennis careers at every level…
From boosting qualifying prize money by 55% since 2023, to enhancing player benefits, we’re ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors.”
The French Open prize pool this year was €61.7 million, a near 10% increase on last year's total. During the French Open, players demonstrated that this was inadequate by staging a media boycott, limiting their media appearances to only 15 minutes.
This year, the Wimbledon prize pool was £64.2 million, an increase of 20%, the biggest rise in its history, and even though top players argued that this was inadequate because it was still less than 16% of the tournament’s revenue, it was temporarily welcomed since it showed a “signal of intent.” A media boycott was planned but then cancelled during Wimbledon.
Chair of Wimbledon’s organiser, the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC), Deborah Jevans, expressed frustration at demands for a revenue-sharing model, arguing that the AELTC is not for profit:
“We’ve always been clear that we’re on the side of the players and we want to have a fantastic Wimbledon, but using revenue to determine prize money, it just makes no sense. And we have said that to Larry Scott…
Revenue does not take into account the contributions that we give. And as I’ve spoken about, we’re not for profit. We’re very different to the Masters 1000s in that everything goes back in the sport…
So, I am frustrated that that message hasn’t gotten across. But we have constant dialogue with Larry in this regard and we’re hoping that message will get across for the players to understand the investment back into the game which is so very, very important and that allows us to be sustainable and will do into the future.”
However, the French Open’s willingness to adopt the model is likely to intensify calls for the remaining Grand Slams to follow suit.
