Who should foot the bill for tennis players’ pay rise?

The All England Club chair has suggested that those inquiries should be directed to the regular tour events as players continue to ask for more prize money from the Grand Slams.

Top 10 players’ representatives met with Wimbledon officials last week to discuss raising prize money and having more influence over the Grand Slams’ rules.

Meanwhile, the International Tennis Federation, the WTA Tour, the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour, and the International Tennis Integrity Agency have all filed legal lawsuits against the Professional Tennis Players’ Association.

It asserts that the 11-month season is “unsustainable” and prize money is artificially restricted.

Players frequently claim that the Grand Slams’ enormous revenues merit a much higher return.

The sport needs to look at itself, according to Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, for many players, because playing for Slams gives them the money to [financing a year on] the entire tour.

In tennis, the majority of money is made on the tour and less at the majors, which is “flipped over.”

Players made 30% of their money from the Grand Slams, according to ATP Tour figures for 2023. The ATP provided a total of $ 241.6 million (£ 176.7 million), including prize money, performance bonuses, and retirement contributions, along with an additional $ 104. 5 million (£ 76.5) in Grand Slam men’s prize money.

The PGA Tour in golf will offer more than $400,000 (£292.9 million) in prize money this year, and it holds more tournaments with more prize money than any of the four majors combined.

Players wonder why they don’t make more money from the £406.5 million in revenue that the All England Club’s most recent financial statement recorded, despite the fact that the prize money has doubled to £53.5m in the last ten years.

The ATP is believed to be hoping to shorten the span by two weeks from 2028, despite the fact that almost everyone in the sport agrees that the season is too long.

The tour would need to recoup some of the owners’ memories, but if it were to succeed, it might give players a seven-week break.

The sport needs to give the players a decent offseason at the end of the year, Jevans said, “If you hear what the players have been saying about their brutal schedule, burnout, injuries.”

Let’s examine that schedule and let the players have a rest season.