Crisis and Revolution in Tennis: Players Angry with Roland Garros and Its Prize Money

Carlos Navarro | 4 May 2026 | 14.07

Possible crisis in the circuit derived from the prize money? Source: Getty

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Players are tired. Very tired. This is the growing sentiment in a dressing room that sees how the Grand Slams continue to swell their earnings... without that equitable percentage being reflected in the players' prize money. Roland Garros 2026 and its increase in cash has been the last straw in a conflict dating back several months involving the big stars of our sport: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, or Coco Gauff are sparking conversations, pulling the strings, and starting to wonder what the next step should be, all amid a conflict that could erupt sooner than we imagine.

The latest pushback, as we were saying, comes from Paris and is led by Roland Garros. According to sources like The Guardian and Tennis Majors, with access to the conversations and formal letters of these players (who even start giving names to a project that could be called "Project Red Eye" or "Fair Share"), the final straw has been the announcement by the Parisian Grand Slam to increase its prize money for 2026 by 9.5% compared to last year's figures. Initially, all seems well... but upon closer inspection, discontent grows.

Last year, the behemoths of the circuit expressed their dissatisfaction to the Grand Slams regarding the distribution of their earnings that go directly to the players: it stands at around 13% to 14% at these major tournaments, far from the 22% found in ATP and WTA tournaments. An insult to the show's stars, who truly generate substantial amounts of money. The slice of the pie that the players see, of course, is quite small... and this warranted changes, changes that have come in some form but are resisted in other ways.

Players have seen progress at the Australian Open or US Open, but Roland Garros has stirred immense anger in the locker room

As tensions rose in the discussions and the major tournaments realized that the anger and potential consequences that could stem from it were more real than ever, improvements began to trickle in slowly. Craig Tiley became the spearhead, leaving the Australian Open in good hands and entering a transition process towards leading the USTA; both the Australian and American Grand Slams have listened to the players, tossing them a small bone in the form of a higher percentage of earnings in their recent editions. In Australia, prize money increased by 16%, the largest rise since COVID; at the US Open, thanks to the new mixed doubles format boom, prize money rose by 20%, amounts that bring players closer to that desired 22% to 23% (as a first step since it is still considered unfair or not representative of their power) of the total earnings that are distributed in ATP tournaments.

However, Paris has been the dissenting note: that 9.5% increase, according to the players' estimates, falls far short of improving the meager 14% they receive from the tournament's earnings, maintaining the numbers of the past decades without any increase or evolution despite all the Grand Slams showing profits and historic figures. Players point out, in a letter to the heads of the Parisian tournament, that while the event sees a 14% increase in general earnings year after year, they witness how the prize money has barely risen by 5.4% (figures from 2025), keeping their share of the pie at just 14% of the total earnings and disregarding the maximum they demanded last year: that the Grand Slams truly take them into account.

Lack of communication and transparency has provoked the anger of big names

Another aspect to consider in the revolutionary atmosphere in the locker room is the lack of communication and transparency displayed by these tournaments. The players have not been informed at any point about these motions, increases, or new earnings: they found out through a cold and concise statement published by the Parisian tournament, forgotten by the authorities and without having been taken into account in any kind of debate.

This was one of the premises demanded in the formal letters delivered last year to the Grand Slams, as well as demanding that these tournaments get involved in pension funds, maternity, or injury benefits, contributing a percentage to those already in place by the ATP. None of this has materialized, and the players feel that, structurally, they do not receive even close to what they generate; while in other sports there are agreements and unions that allow athletes to establish their percentage between 30% and 50% of the generated revenue, in tennis they have to settle for figures around 22% or 23%... while some Grand Slams, like Paris, are even further from these numbers.

Several players are expected to express their dissatisfaction with this situation this week during the Rome tournament; conversations in the locker room are becoming more serious, serving as a way to put pressure on the major tournaments, which have been too complacent with a distribution that has angered big stars. Among the signatories of these letters and involved in this small revolution are all the big fish in the circuit: Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, or Coco Gauff are part of this sort of 'rebellion' that, to date, is just a hodgepodge of words and opinions... but perhaps is closer than ever to materializing into something tangible. Will it happen soon? We will await new developments from the Italian capital.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Crisis y ¿revolución? en el tenis: los jugadores, enfadados con Roland Garros y su prize money