Roland-Garros pledges prize money proposals for 2027 in the wake of the current edition
According to information gathered by Tennis Majors, no player was present at the meeting scheduled at the FFT on Friday to move forward on the issue of prize money and social protection. But their representatives kept up the pressure for concrete short-term progress.
Amélie Mauremo et Gilles Moretton, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
This is a further sign that Roland-Garros 2026 will take place without any player revolt, without any boycott threat, or anything close to it. Friday’s press conferences showed neither unity nor any willingness to escalate on the players’ side – if anything, a degree of awkwardness. At the meeting promised later that day between the FFT, organiser of Roland-Garros, and the players, not a single player was physically present.
Last year, Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff personally took the time to lay out their demands in a meeting room. Not this time.
Three FFT decision-makers, including Gilles Moretton and Amélie Mauresmo, faced Larry Scott, the former WTA president (2003-2009), a respected and feared advisor and businessman who speaks for the players in this project under the informal code name Red Eye movement. He was accompanied by agents representing the headline figures of the movement.
No decision, but an agenda
No decision was reached during a meeting described as long, technical and frank, between an FFT seen as having been overly top-down in recent months – if not disrespectful of the players’ wishes expressed in 2025 – and a team of player representatives standing firm on the demands set out in the letter published on May 3rd: a substantial increase in prize money and a commitment to fund retirement, welfare and maternity leave schemes.
The FFT, which was unavailable to comment on the meeting, has committed to presenting its proposals within a short timeframe, understood to mean a few weeks at most after the fortnight ending on June 7th.
The Red Eye movement’s exact demand to the Grand Slam tournaments is now known. It was laid out in a viral video produced by the SportsBall account, viewed more than 1.6 million times and shared by several players. According to our information, the Red Eye movement has validated the figures in these videos, which represent the players’ quantified demands.
Their goal is to reach 22% of total Grand Slam revenues allocated to prize money by 2030, with a gradual increase up to that point. Current figures stand between 13 and 15%. On top of that, a welfare contribution (broadly understood as social protection) reaching 12 million dollars per Grand Slam by the same horizon.
2027 and beyond
Tennis Majors has not been able to confirm whether the increase in prize money would be allocated entirely or mostly to players entered in the first qualifying rounds or in the very first round of the main draw. This message was conveyed far more sharply by the players at Roland-Garros media day on May 22nd than in their letter of May 3rd.
Friday’s discussions concerned only Roland-Garros, with a view to 2027 and beyond. The players’ representatives are conducting parallel pressure campaigns on the four governing bodies that run the major tournaments, which operate independently of one another.
According to our information, Wimbledon is due to announce its prize money on June 11th. That gives the All England Club eighteen days to absorb the pressure, which will now shift onto them while the FFT works on its response.
