Tim Henman has intervened in the ongoing row over grand slam prize money, helping to arrange a meeting between Wimbledon officials and leading player representatives at the French Open next week. The former British No 1 and All England Club Board member held talks with several top players, including representatives of the WTA Players’ Council, at the Italian Open in Rome earlier this month.
Wimbledon will offer to create a new player council during the meeting, which is scheduled to take place at Roland Garros. The tournament will also reaffirm its commitment to growing the sport and increasing prize money, with this year’s Championships prize fund set to be announced on 11 June. However, player representatives have insisted they will not discuss the formation of a council until the grand slam organisers address requests for a greater percentage of revenue and contributions to welfare initiatives.
The dispute has escalated since last year’s French Open, when a delegation of players including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff urged all slams to increase prize funds to 22% of revenue by 2030. Following a modest 7% increase by Wimbledon, the US Open and Australian Open raised prize money by 20% and 16% respectively, but the French Open’s 9.5% increase was deemed insufficient by players, who claimed the real-terms rise was only 5.4% of revenue.
In a coordinated protest, leading players have agreed to reduce media activities at the French Open, limiting themselves to pre-tournament press conferences and one host broadcaster interview, while refusing one-on-one interviews with global TV rights holders. French Open tournament director Amélie Mauresmo expressed sadness over the decision but said discussions had begun and she was confident in the exchanges to come.
The Australian Open has aligned with the Professional Tennis Players’ Association, which is suing the other three grand slam governing bodies in New York over alleged restrictive practices. It remains unclear if Henman’s intervention has helped bring players to the negotiating table, but his status in the sport may have smoothed relations.
