Players on the tennis circuit are demanding that the Grand Slams distribute a larger share of the money collected to the athletes, as is already the case at many major ATP and WTA competitions. Their target is for prize money to reach about 22% of total tournament revenue.
Discontent also arose because of the amounts offered at Roland-Garros
Last year, Roland Garros organizers directed less than 10% of total prize money to players. According to estimates from the French press, this year’s percentage would also remain below the level desired by the athletes, somewhere around 15%.
During the pre-tournament press meetings, several athletes explained why they believe the distribution of money is not fair and demanded better conditions for the players.
“You can’t just take advantage of players!”
“The demands of the players are reasonable. And since we’re all doing the same thing, I think it’s good that the players are united!”emphasized Mirra Andreeva.
“It’s not about wanting more money, it’s about getting what we feel is our due! Of course, when tournaments make money, we want a significant portion of it to go back to the players!“Taylor Fritz added.
“Cthe most important thing is to be united and try to do something together to develop this sport (…), you can’t just take advantage of the players. And sometimes you don’t even treat them right. Because of them you earn all this money and everything you have, so it’s not the right way to go about it at all!”Andrey Rublev also said, during the conference before the start of the Roland Garros tournament.
