Continue the struggle of athletes with the tennis system. A letter maintains the fire lit between players and governing bodies
After the process filed by PTPA (the association founded by Serbian Novak Djokovic), assumed by several athletes – including Sorana Cîrstea, a letter has recently appeared in which the top players in the ATP and WTA circuits claim a higher share of the winnings in the main tournaments.
Novak Djokovic leads the players revolt
The battle between tennis players and institutions (decision -making forums) has not yet completed. The PTPA complaint against ATP, WTA, ITF and ITIA was just the first movement of some players who decided to take an attitude against the main management bodies.
Now, the most important tennis players in the circuit that go out and the Grand Slam tournaments are in the center of attention. According to L'Equipe, the first 20 in the men's and female standings have signed a letter asking the four tournaments – Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open – a substantial increase in money prizes.
By this letter it was requested as a higher share of the profits made by the most prestigious four tournaments of the two circuits to benefit the most important players. The reasons are based on a vision that the respective athletes have for several years: without them, there would be no show.
The prizes have grown up: will the model applied in NBA
The request, already mentioned by the PTPA in the complaint made, follows the NBA model, in which the players are guaranteed 50% of the revenues generated by the league during a season. In tennis, however, this is not the case. As the French newspaper reports, the total prizes of last year's French Open were 53,478 million euros, a little below 16% of the tournament revenues.
The letter that the most important tennis players in both circuits have signed is nothing more than a request for a claim already made in the past. Under the pressure of the players, the premiere fund had been increased significantly. The allowance granted to the winners from the Men's Simple and the female increased by 54%, that of the semifinalists by 60%.
At the US Open, record numbers were reached, with $ 75 million prizes. The 2024 edition of Roland Garros increased the awards by 7.82% more than in 2023. Figures that do not thank the 20 most powerful tennis in the world.
In fact, they believe that their slice of cake is not sufficiently proportional to the profits generated by the Grand Slam, which in 2024 attracted an audience of over two billion people in over 200 countries, with a total of 3,360,000 spectators on stadiums, an increase of 10%.
