French Open has ‘positive’ meeting with players over tennis dispute

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Representatives of the world’s top tennis players, who are campaigning to receive a larger share of Grand Slam prize money, and the organisers of the French Open have engaged in a constructive meeting over the issue, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has said on the eve of the tournament.

The FFT, represented among others by Roland Garros director and former women’s world number one Amelie Mauresmo, met the player representatives on Friday at the end of the boycott-impacted media day before the start of the French Open.

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“[The meeting] has allowed the FFT and the players’ representatives to engage in a positive and transparent exchange on a number of issues,” the federation said in a press release on Saturday.

“As these discussions require more time, all parties have agreed to continue the dialogue and to meet again in the coming weeks.”

A source close to the discussions told the news agency AFP earlier on Saturday that the FFT “has agreed to negotiate directly with the players” involved in the protest, which includes world number-ones Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka.

As the organiser of the Paris Grand Slam, the FFT “has committed to responding to the players’ proposals in the coming weeks”, the source added.

Since March 2025, a group of about 20 of the highest-ranked players on the ATP and WTA tours have been trying to secure a larger share of the revenue generated by Grand Slam tournaments.

The players involved are calling for a 22 percent share of these revenues by 2030, compared with around 15 percent at present.

To demonstrate their dissatisfaction, 20 players have been limiting their media commitments to 15 minutes on Friday and Saturday, during the two days set aside for pre-tournament news conferences and interviews at Roland Garros.

Representatives of the world’s top players, mainly agents, have now planned talks with the organisers of Wimbledon and the US Open at two separate meetings scheduled to take place towards the end of Roland Garros.

However, no meeting is currently planned with the organisers of the Australian Open.

In addition to a fairer distribution of revenue at Grand Slam tournaments, the stars of the tour are also calling for greater involvement in key decisions regarding the four flagship tournaments of the global tennis calendar.

They also want the Grand Slam tournaments to invest more in players’ “well-being”, for example, healthcare, maternity leave and pensions.

Mauresmo, a former Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, said on Thursday that the French Open prize money will not change this year.