1 week ago
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has pledged to make actual proposals astir accrued prize money, subordinate use and practice wrong nan adjacent period successful talks pinch starring agents astatine nan French Open.
The discussions took spot connected Friday, nan aforesaid time galore players, including nan world No 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, collectively decided to limit their pre-tournament media briefings to 15 minutes successful protestation astatine what they respect arsenic insufficient prize money paid by nan 4 expansive slams.
The players chose to only behaviour their mandatory duties, a property convention and an question and reply pinch nan big broadcaster, alternatively than nan 60 to 90 minutes they usually give to interviews, photoshoots and different media activities.
The slams allocate astir 15% of their tourney revenues successful prize money and nan players are demanding that fig beryllium accrued to 22%, to lucifer nan percent paid by nan ATP and WTA Tours.
The players are understood to person been heartened by Friday’s meeting, which included 3 representatives of nan FFT, nan players’ typical Larry Scott and a group of subordinate agents, and respect what sources progressive described arsenic affirmative talks arsenic vindicating their media boycott. One root told nan Guardian that 1 time of nonstop action had achieved much than complete a twelvemonth of discussions down nan scenes.
The FFT has promised to return pinch elaborate proposals wrong a fortnight of adjacent month’s last astatine Roland Garros, pinch nan players adamant that an summation successful prize money must return spot alongside discussions complete use and subordinate representation.
Earlier this week, Amélie Mauresmo, nan Roland Garros tourney head and erstwhile world No 1, had defended nan FFT’s decisions regarding this year’s prize money and their financial contributions to players. “We person a exemplary that is very different from what is connected nan Tours, beryllium it nan ATP Tours aliases nan WTA,” she said. “Even a different exemplary from nan different Grand Slams.
“So I deliberation we do, we put successful spot everything we tin besides successful nan liking of nan players. We are besides [improving] our infrastructure, we person a prize-money that has accrued well, doubled successful 10 years, and past besides accrued good successful caller times, not only towards nan apical players but besides towards those who are much qualifiers and nan first rounds of nan table.”
As reported by nan Guardian past week, nan All England Club has offered to group up a subordinate assembly at Wimbledon to springiness nan players a opportunity successful nan operating of nan tournament, but they do not respect that arsenic capable successful itself.
Further meetings pinch nan All England Club and nan United States Tennis Association will return spot successful Paris adjacent week, pinch nan players keeping their options unfastened successful position of imaginable protests astatine Wimbledon later successful nan summer.
Tennis Australia is not progressive successful nan discussions arsenic successful a abstracted conflict nan assemblage has sided pinch nan Professional Tennis Players Association, nan players’ union, successful its ineligible lawsuit against nan 3 different slams.
