Grand slam organisers ready to make concessions for players amid dispute

Wimbledon and the three other grand slam tournaments are willing to make concessions to the players in an attempt to resolve a dispute over prize money, pensions and player representation.

The Guardian has learned that during discussions with representatives of several top-10 world-ranked men and women players at Wimbledon last week, the All England Club offered to hold talks over creating a player council to give athletes a voice in decisions over scheduling, as well as indicating a willingness to contribute to their pension and healthcare provision for the first time.

Similar offers are understood to have been made by the other major championships, the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, with the discussions set to resume at the final grand slam of the year in New York next month. The details have yet to be agreed with the players planning to submit a formal proposal later this year.

Player representatives held two meetings with Wimbledon and French Open officials, and executives from the Australian Open and US Open, at SW19 with sources involved on all sides describing the discussions as positive. The talks had begun in May at Roland Garros, where leading players, including Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff, met with the grand slam heads and made a series of demands, including a greater proportion of their revenue to be shared in prize money; contributions from the four majors to player healthcare, pensions and maternity pay; and a formal say in decisions regarding tournament scheduling.

The offer to begin talks over creating a player council for the grand slams is seen as a significant concession by the players, who have always insisted that the dispute is not primarily about prize money. All the grand slams have introduced significant changes to their playing conditions in recent years without consulting the players, including Sunday starts at the Australian and US Opens, playing on the first Sunday at Wimbledon and more evening sessions everywhere, which has led to 3am finishes in Melbourne and Paris in particular.

Many of the players feel such changes have had a detrimental effect on their preparation for tournaments and want a formal say on such decisions in the future, particularly as there is a feeling some of the grand slams want to introduce Saturday starts to give them three full weekends of action to sell to broadcasters. While the issue of prize money was not discussed in detail at Wimbledon there is an acceptance by the players that it has continued to increase significantly each year, with the All England Club paying out £53.5m this year, a rise of 7% on 12 months ago.

Wimbledon declined to comment on the details of private conversation, but confirmed discussions had taken place during the championships.

“We always welcome the opportunity to engage with the players and are regularly in touch with them year-round,” a spokesperson said. “We were happy to continue those conversations at Wimbledon. Listening to the players’ feedback and maintaining a constructive relationship with them is very important to us and these discussions will continue.”

View image in fullscreen The Professional Tennis Players Association, founded by Novak Djokovic, could take legal action against the slams. Photograph: Frey/TPN/Getty Images

The grand slams are also facing potential legal action from the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), the international players’ union set up by Novak Djokovic, who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and International Tennis Federation in March, accusing the sport’s governing bodies of suppressing competition, manipulating prize money and imposing a restrictive ranking system on the players.

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The PTPA filed an amended complaint against the tours in New York last week, which included an addendum that they would hold off naming the grand slams as co-defendants. Ahmad Nassar, the PTPA chief executive, said that they have since held productive discussions with the grand slams and expressed confidence they can reach an agreement.

“We filed a 180-page amended complaint, but we also filed a one-page letter about our talks with the grand slams, saying that we want 90 days to continue those discussions,” Nassar said. “Ninety days is the timeline in the letter we filed with the court that said that we’re holding off on naming the grand slams as defendants in our court case. We’ve been having productive discussions with them about resolving the issues that we outlined in the 180-page complaint.

“The one page to me means far more than 180 pages. That’s the window to really roll up our sleeves and address the issues over the schedule, player representation, and compensation.”

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