The top players in men’s and women’s tennis are reportedly unhappy with the prize money on offer at the upcoming French Open.
“With estimated revenues of over 400 million euros ($468,426,000) for this year’s tournament, prize money as a percentage of revenue will likely still be less than 15%, far short of the 22% that players have requested to bring the Grand Slams into line with the ATP and WTA Combined 1000 events,” players said in a joint statement.
Pick your most controversial tennis moment of all time!
Plenty to choose from…
Former Grand Slam semi-finalist Sam Querrey has now told players to boycott the French Open rather than complain about prize money.
Sam Querrey thinks prize money would increase if players boycotted the French Open
During the latest episode of ‘Nothing Major‘, Querrey delivered his verdict on the Roland Garros prize money debate.
“At some point here, until the players just boycott, they have just got to stop complaining,” he said.
“If the players did not play Roland Garros, I literally believe that the prize money would shoot up to 25% of revenue share.”
Querrey’s co-host, Steve Johnson, was also keen to share his thoughts.
“That is the only way to do it,” he said.
“If you include qualifying at a major, there are 300 or 400 people who need to do something together; that will never happen.”
Querrey then suggested how much prize money he believes the winner of a Grand Slam should receive.
“How much money should the winner at a major get?” he asked.
“I think it should be $10 million.”
Grand Slam prize money (2025)
| Grand Slam | Winner | Runner-up | Semi-finalist | Quarter-finalist |
| Australian Open | $2,505,142 | $1,359,934 | $787,330 | $475,977 |
| French Open | $2,980,019 | $1,490,009 | $806,358 | $514,199 |
| Wimbledon | $4,063,710 | $2,058,946 | $1,049,791 | $541,828 |
| US Open | $5,000,000 | $2,500,000 | $1,260,000 | $660,000 |
In 2025, Alcaraz pocketed $5,000,000 for winning the US Open.
Querrey believes he should have earned double that.
But as he rightly said, if players don’t boycott, they will never receive the prize money they believe they deserve.
Have players ever boycotted a Grand Slam?
It’s unlikely that players will boycott the 2026 French Open, but a Grand Slam boycott isn’t unprecedented…
In 1973, 81 players boycotted Wimbledon.
Why? Well, players stood by Nikola Pilic, after he was suspended for nine months by the Yugoslav Tennis Association.
Accusing Pilic of refusing to play a Davis Cup tie, they suspended their star player, and the suspension was supported by the ITF (International Tennis Federation), albeit reduced to a single month.
In a show of solidarity, the newly formed ATP decided that if Pilic was not allowed to compete, they wouldn’t either.
As the two sides failed to reach an agreement, 81 players boycotted the Wimbledon Championships, including some of the biggest names in the sport.
Top players who boycotted Wimbledon in 1973
- Stan Smith
- John Newcombe
- Arthur Ashe
- Ken Rosewall
- Roy Emerson
- Adriano Panatta
- Manuel Orantes
The first-ever world number one, Ilie Nastase, was also supposed to join the boycott, but claimed he was forced to play under orders from the Romanian government.
With the favourites refusing to play, Czechia’s Jan Kodes emerged victorious at the All England Club, defeating Alex Metreveli in the final.
Kodes never reached another Wimbledon final after 1973, and neither did Metreveli.
In 1973, Kodes was ranked 11th in the world, with Metreveli 34th.
Today, Alexander Bublik and Rafael Jodar are ranked 11th and 34th.
Imagine that as a French Open final!
Only time will tell if players take further action against the Grand Slams, but it will certainly be a story to look out for over the coming months.
The 2026 French Open begins on Sunday, May 24.
