Grand Slam bonuses: Aryna Sabalenka joins top stars in demanding action on bonuses and player benefits
Players have made separate submissions to the four Grand Slam tournaments with suggestions for changes they would like to see implemented.
There are three broad areas of focus:
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bonus – A higher prize-to-earnings ratio to recognize player contributions to the tournament’s financial success, with more money going to the draw
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Player benefits – How much the Grand Slam is willing to contribute to pension, health care and maternity funds
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More consultation—— Players want a say in major decisions being made at the Grand Slams to ease tight schedules, late-night matches and extended tournaments
sinner told the guardian, external The men’s world number one wants player pensions and healthcare issues to be addressed immediately after he argued earlier this week that the Grand Slams should make a “fair contribution to support all players”.
Currently, the Grand Slam tournaments do not contribute to player benefit programs. The ATP Tour and WTA Tour have spent a combined £60m on financial support and leading players hope the Grand Slams will make a similar contribution.
In an interview with The Independent,, external Ben Shelton, a top-10 American player, highlighted the difference in the proportion of prize money earned in tennis and other sports.
The Grand Slams – the pinnacle of the sport – will pay players between 12.5% and 20% of their earnings in 2024, player representatives said.
However, Grand Slam insiders dispute these figures. Take the Australian Open, for example, where prize money is believed to account for 23% of its revenue.
In comparison, stars who play in the four major U.S. sports leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB) are paid 40 to 50 percent of their game earnings.
While tennis stars understand that team sport is a completely different model, they are demanding that each Grand Slam increase the ratio in stages over the next five years, eventually approaching the 22% they achieve on some of the leading ATP and WTA combined tours.
It is also recommended that a player advisory group be established at all major championships – separate from the existing Tour Players Council, specifically for the majors.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had the ATP and WTA players work together to have more of a say in decisions and contributions,” said three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Rudd.
