May 4 (UPI) — Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff were among a group of tennis stars who expressed disappointment in French Open revenue shares through a joint statement.
The statement was issued Sunday through 20 players from both tours, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. The 2026 French Open will be held May 24 to June 7 in Paris.
French Open organizers announced last month that prize money for the clay-court major in 2026 would increase by 9.5% compared to last season’s tournament at Roland Garros. The total prize pool will be about $72 million in 2026, an increase of more than $6 million.
“In 2026, the Roland-Garros tournament will offer a total prize money of €61.7 million ($72.2M), representing a 9.53% increase compared to 2025 and roughly a 45% increase since 2019,” the French Tennis Federation said in a statement issued to The Athletic. “This reflects a sustained commitment to increasing player compensation over time.
“The French Tennis Federation has made the choice to focus some of these increases on players who exit the tournament in the early rounds of the main draw and the qualifying stages, with rises exceeding 11%, as to better support players who rely most on prize money to fund their season.”
But the players pointed to their share of revenue from the tournament, which they say will decrease from 15.5% to 14.9% projected in 2026.
“As Roland Garros looks to post record revenues, players are therefore receiving a declining share of the value they help create,” the players said in the letter. “More critically, the announcement does nothing to address the structural issues that players have consistently and reasonably raised over the past year.
“There has been no engagement on player welfare and no progress toward establishing a formal mechanism for player consultation within Grand Slam decision-making.”
The players said other major sports are “modernizing governance, aligning stakeholders and building long-term value,” while the Grand Slams “remain resistant to change.”
Players co-signed a previous letter in 2025, requesting a greater share of tournament revenue and investments into player welfare.
“Beyond prize money, the Roland-Garros model is based on a specific economic framework,” the FFT said in its statement to The Athletic. “The FFT is a non-profit organization. All revenues generated by the tournament are reinvested into the Roland-Garros tournament, as well as the development of tennis in France and internationally.”
The French Tennis Federation also said the investment supports development of tennis at the grass-root level, training and pathway programs, wheelchair tennis and inclusive tennis.
“The FFT has also recently invested more than €400 million ($468M) in the Roland-Garros infrastructure, notably to significantly enhance player conditions and on-site services,” the FFT said.
“Finally, the FFT remains fully committed to ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders in global tennis, including speaking directly with individual players. It will continue working to improve overall player conditions, in line with its responsibilities and its model.”
The men’s and women’s singles champions of the 2026 French Open will receive about $3.2 million apiece. The runners-up will receive $1.6 million apiece. Semifinalists will each pocket $850,000.
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