The prize money dispute between players in the majors has been raging on since last year. The players had demanded that their share of Grand Slam revenues should be increased from 12.5% to about 20–22%. However, the Slams haven’t agreed to their demands. The issue erupted once again at the French Open and could reportedly escalate at the US Open later this year, with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner at the center of it.

According to a report by The Times, several highly-ranked players, including Sinner, are considering boycotting the mixed doubles event at the US Open if their demands aren’t met. The motive behind this move will be to pressure the tournament organizers into accepting the demands that were put forward.

The players are looking to target the mixed doubles event in particular after the US Open introduced a new format last year. The mixed doubles is now a two-day, standalone event that is held during the qualifying week. The competition has been reduced to just 16 pairs and boasts a prize money of $1 million for the winning team.

This had attracted names like Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Novak Djokovic, and more to the event. A boycott of this event can indeed pressure the Grand Slam and its organizers over the prize money dispute.

The players had used a different strategy to show their disapproval of the prize money on offer at the French Open. A collection of the top 10 players from the ATP and WTA had first issued a strong statement against the mere 5.4% increase to the total purse that the Grand Slam had announced.

Through this statement, the players had pointed out that the French Open had generated $463 million last year, which was a 14% increase in comparison to the previous figures. Despite this, they barely made an increase to the total prize purse for the tournament.

When the Roland Garros didn’t budge after the statement, the players decided to stage a media protest in Paris. This led many of them to leave news conferences after just 15 minutes. The time limit was symbolic as it highlighted the fact that Grand Slams typically allocate about 15% of revenues to the prize money. After the prize money at this year’s Roland Garros was declared to be $72.3 million, it aligned with roughly 15% of its projected revenue.

The tournament didn’t change its stance and made no changes to the prize purse that was announced initially. Hence, their grievances remained unaddressed. However, they have a very different opinion about the prize money that has been announced at the upcoming SW19.

Players welcome the substantial increase in Wimbledon’s prize money

Wimbledon will not have to face any type of player protests this year, as the players have welcomed the massive 20% increase that has been made to the total prize purse. The SW19 has announced a record-breaking prize pool of £64.2 million (approximately $85.8 million) for the upcoming edition. Notably, the Grand Slam’s total prize pool last year was £53.5 million (approximately $72.7 million).

Though the increase still doesn’t meet the 22% increase in revenue share demand that the players had put forward last year, they are still appreciative of the massive growth in the Grand Slam’s total prize purse.

“Leading players from the ATP and WTA Tours welcome Wimbledon’s 2026 prize money announcement as a genuine and significant step forward – the 20% increase is the largest single-year uplift in the tournament’s history and a meaningful signal of intent,” the player group said in a statement.

Aside from significantly raising the total prize purse, Wimbledon has also made a substantial increase in the cash prize that the singles champions will receive. Both the men’s and women’s singles champions will receive £3.6 million each (approximately $4.8 million). In comparison, they had received £3 million for winning the title last year.

“Players want to see Wimbledon continue to thrive and support the investment the tournament makes in the game. The question has never been whether those investments are valuable, but whether the athletes whose performances drive the event’s global success should receive a fair share of its tremendous financial growth. Our goal is not to diminish that success, it is to ensure that its continued growth benefits equitably everyone who contributes to it,” the statement further read.

Now it remains to be seen how much the US Open will increase its total prize purse for the upcoming edition.