Tennis’s grand slam tournaments have agreed to establish a formal player advisory council in a move aimed at defusing the row over prize money. The joint venture could be confirmed on Wednesday as part of the US Tennis Association’s (USTA) announcement of this year’s US Open prize money, which is expected to top $100m (£74m) for the first time.
The four slams have been in dispute for almost 18 months, with leading players – including Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka– demanding a greater share of tournament revenues as part of a wider overhaul of the sport’s finances and operations that would also lead to the major tournaments making contributions to player welfare and offer meaningful player representation.
After failing to achieve a breakthrough, the world’s top 10 male and female players took direct action by withdrawing from some of their contracted media activity at the French Open in May, although a similar boycott planned for Wimbledon the following month was cancelled after last-minute negotiations.
The players are demanding the slams match the tours runs by the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association in allocating 22% of their revenues to prize money, whereas the £64.2m on offer at Wimbledon was about 14.4% of the total money made at the championships.
The slams remain under significant pressure to produce an increase, with all eyes on the USTA, now under the leadership of the former Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley.
The US Open, which begins on 30 August, has traditionally offered the highest prize money in tennis, with last year’s fund totalling $90m, and there is widespread expectation in the locker room it will exceed $100m for the first time.
The threat of another media boycott at Flushing Meadows remains if the players are unhappy with the level of prize money, while they are also waiting to discover the finer details of the proposed player advisory council before confirming their position.
A source involved in the negotiations said it was vital for the players to have a say in determining who represents them, how those representatives are selected and the extent of their involvement in the slams’ decision-making.
The ATP and WTA tours have player councils whose members are elected directly by the players for fixed terms of office.
In addition to extending the media non-cooperation a number of players had threatened to boycott the US Open’s mixed doubles, which takes place next week and is part of an attempt by the USTA to grow its revenues by turning it into a three-week tournament.
Significantly, Sinner, the men’s world No 1, was not among the entrants in the main draw announced on Tuesday, although Sabalenka, the women’s No 1, will take part in a star‑studded pairing with Novak Djokovic.
Sinner entered the mixed doubles last year alongside Katerina Siniakova, but pulled out because of an illness picked up at the previous week’s Cincinnati Open.
