18-month campaign comes to an end after US Open
Sinner and Sabalenka most vocal of leading players
The world’s leading tennis players have agreed a truce in their long-running battle with the grand slam tournaments over prize money, welfare and player consultation.
In a statement released after the men’s US Open final on Sunday the players announced they would stop their 18-month campaign of agitating against the grand slam tournaments, which culminated in a media boycott at the French Open this year, a plan first revealed in May.
A similar boycott planned for Wimbledon was called off after the All England Lawn Tennis Club made concessions.
Jannik Sinner and the US Open finalist Aryna Sabalenka were the most vocal of the players lobbying on behalf of the locker room, with Carlos Alcaraz last month withdrawing from the campaign.
The players have been calling for a greater share of the tournament revenues from the four major tournaments to be paid in prize money, a contribution from the grand slam events to player welfare and pension provision, and a formal role in decision-making through the creation of a player council.
It was revealed in August all four tournaments had agreed to create a grand slam player advisory council, a move which appears to have been crucial in bringing players back into the fold.
“Now that a formal council exists to carry this work forward, the public phase of the campaign led by the unified group of top players comes to a close,” their statement read.
“Players reserve the right to restart the campaign should the Council fail to deliver on these aims. The players involved in the campaign will be making no further public comment as a unified group on these issues at this time.
“The players will now work directly with the grand slams to establish the council, through which players themselves will be directly consulted and able to negotiate on an ongoing basis.”
The players’ statement claimed they had achieved victories in all three areas of their campaign, as the US Tennis Association agreed to make a $2m (£1.48m) contribution to player welfare at the US Open this year, although their target of 22% of the grand slam tournament revenues to be allocated to prize money remains elusive.
While prize money has increased significantly it remains at about 15% across all the slams and the French Open is the only grand slam tournament to indicate it will introduce a revenue-sharing formula.
“Since the players’ formal proposal was submitted on 31 July 2025, prize money across these grand slam tournaments has grown to $415.6m in total, with players estimating that more than $30m of that reflects incremental gains above the rate of growth the years before the campaign began,” the players said.
“This stands as a testament to the gains made possible by concerted, unified player action in an individual sport and by constructive dialogue with the grand slams and tournament organisers. The players look to the council to build on this progress and continue pursuing the aims not yet fully achieved.”
