Sinner, Gauff among stars disappointed with French Open revenue share

Italian Jannik Sinner is among the tennis stars to have expressed disappointment in revenue sharing for the 2026 French Open through a statement issued Monday. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI

May 4 (UPI) -- Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff were among a group of tennis stars who expressed disappointment in French Open revenue shares through a joint statement.

The statement was issued Sunday through 20 players from both tours, including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. The 2026 French Open will be held May 24 to June 7 in Paris.

French Open organizers announced last month that prize money for the clay-court major in 2026 would increase by 9.5% compared to last season's tournament at Roland Garros. The total prize pool will be about $72 million in 2026, an increase of more than $6 million.

"In 2026, the Roland-Garros tournament will offer a total prize money of €61.7 million ($72.2M), representing a 9.53% increase compared to 2025 and roughly a 45% increase since 2019," the French Tennis Federation said in a statement issued to The Athletic. "This reflects a sustained commitment to increasing player compensation over time.

"The French Tennis Federation has made the choice to focus some of these increases on players who exit the tournament in the early rounds of the main draw and the qualifying stages, with rises exceeding 11%, as to better support players who rely most on prize money to fund their season."

But the players pointed to their share of revenue from the tournament, which they say will decrease from 15.5% to 14.9% projected in 2026.

"As Roland Garros looks to post record revenues, players are therefore receiving a declining share of the value they help create," the players said in the letter. "More critically, the announcement does nothing to address the structural issues that players have consistently and reasonably raised over the past year.