Top Players Secure Negotiating Council with Grand Slams

Richard Pagliaro | Monday, September 14, 2026
Photo credit: Cincinnati Open Facebook

Conflict between top players and Grand Slams over revenue sharing sparked boycott suggestions at Roland Garros.

Now, the two sides have made “significant progress” in negotiations.

Leading players announced today they will work directly with the four Grand Sams through the formation of a Grand Slam Player Advisory Council empowering players to “negotiate on an ongoing basis.”

Players announced both the end of the public phase of their efforts to gain a greater piece of Grand Slam revenue pie.

In a press release, players said through sustained dialogue and public pressure they have achieved progress in their three-stated aims from a campaign launched in March of 2025.

Here’s an excerpt from the players’ release on the progress they’ve made:

1. Consultation: the proposed Grand Slam Player Council in principle gives a formal mechanism to consult and negotiate on all issues affecting players at the four Slams. Players will sit on the Council both through nominated player representatives and, over time, through a formal player election process that is still to be developed. Players expect the Council will also draw on independent advisory support.
2. Player welfare contributions: the US Open is the first Grand Slam to make a commitment to a formal contribution of $2 million for this year’s tournament. The players expect that this to increase over time and expect the other Slams to follow suit with their own concrete proposals.
3. A fairer share of tournament revenues: players had asked for 22% of tournament revenues to be shared with players as prize money by 2030. While the Grand Slams have not yet reached this figure or committed to formal revenue sharing agreements, all have increased prize money significantly beyond their long-term trend prior to the campaign, over the past 18 months. Roland Garros has also put forward a prize money formula linked to tournament profits, a step players welcome even as the details of the formula remain to be developed. Since the players’ formal proposal was submitted on 31 July 2025, prize money across these Grand Slam tournaments — the 2025 and 2026 US Open and the 2026 Australian Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros — has grown to $415.6m in total, with players estimating that more than $30 million of that reflects incremental gains above the rate of growth in the years before the campaign began.