Tennis players halt public Grand Slam campaign as advisory council takes shape

Leading tennis players have ended the public phase of their campaign over Grand Slam prize money, welfare and consultation, with negotiations set to move through a new advisory council. According to the Guardian, the group announced the decision in a statement issued after Sunday’s US Open men’s final. The move brings an 18-month public campaign to a close, but the players retain the option of restarting it if the council fails to deliver.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5woXpF9mdkA

The dispute centred on three demands: a greater proportion of revenue from the four majors being distributed as prize money, tournament contributions towards player welfare and pensions, and a formal voice in decisions. The Guardian reported that all four Grand Slam tournaments had agreed in August to create a player advisory council. The players now intend to work directly with the tournaments to establish that body and use it for continuing consultation and negotiations.

Financial progress has not fulfilled the group’s central revenue-sharing ambition. Players sought a 22% allocation of Grand Slam tournament revenue to prize money, while the proportion remains around 15% across the majors, according to the report. The French Open is the only one of the four tournaments to have indicated that it will introduce a revenue-sharing formula. The end of the public campaign therefore does not mean that its demands have all been met.

The group nevertheless pointed to gains in its statement. It said total prize money across the Grand Slams had reached $415.6 million since its formal proposal was submitted on July 31, 2025. Players estimated that more than $30 million represented increases beyond the previous rate of growth. That assessment was the players’ own calculation, rather than an independently established measure of the campaign’s effect.

On welfare, the US Tennis Association agreed to contribute $2 million at this year’s US Open, the Guardian reported. The campaign had also included a media boycott at the French Open. A similar action planned for Wimbledon was cancelled after concessions from the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka were among the most vocal figures in the lobbying effort, while Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from it last month. The players said they would make no further collective public comment on these issues for now, leaving the council to pursue the objectives that remain unfinished.