Tennis players disappointed with French Open prize money

With two weeks to go until the French Open, top players have expressed disappointment with the prize pool.

The major tournament is offering a total of €61.7 million ($AU100.7 million).

Here is what to know.

The French Open

The French Open, also known as Roland Garros, is the second of tennis's four grand slam tournaments and the only one played on clay (The other three are the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open).

This year's tournament begins on 24 May and runs for two weeks at the Roland Garros tennis complex in Paris.

There is also a qualifying tournament, which will begin the week before on 18 May, where players will compete for a spot in the main draw.

The prize money

Tournament organisers announced last month they would lift the total 2026 prize pool by 9.5% to €61.7 million, an increase of €5.3 million on last year.

Singles champions in both draws will earn €2.8 million ($AU4.6 million), runners-up €1.4 million ($AU2.3 million), and first-round losers €87,000 ($AU141,600).

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The French Tennis Federation, which runs the tournament, told The Athletic the increase represents a roughly 45% rise in prize money since 2019. It said the rises had been weighted toward early-round and qualifying players, who rely most on prize money to fund their seasons.

The criticism

In a joint statement circulated yesterday, leading players including world number ones Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, and American world number four Coco Gauff argued the increase masks a shrinking share of overall tournament revenue.

According to their statement, the 2026 prize pool will represent 15% of the tournament's projected revenue. The group is pushing for the four majors to lift that share to 22% by 2030. This is the rate used by combined ATP and WTA 1000 events.

Athletes in the U.S. professional sports leagues, such as the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball, receive close to 50% of league revenue.

The statement said: "As Roland Garros looks to post record revenues, players are therefore receiving a declining share of the value they help create."

The players also raised concerns about player welfare and governance, accusing the four majors of being "resistant to change" compared with other major sports.

PTPA lawsuit

The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) launched a lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies last March, alleging they had collaborated to reduce player prize money. In September, the PTPA added the organisations behind the Grand Slams to the lawsuit.

The Australian Open settled with the PTPA in December, while the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open filed a joint motion to dismiss the case.