Sabalenka, Pegula praise US Open prize money boost and new player council

World number one Aryna Sabalenka and American player Jessica Pegula have welcomed the U.S. Open's record prize money allocation and the establishment of a new Grand Slam player advisory council. They view these developments as significant progress in the ongoing efforts by competitors to secure a larger share of tournament revenue and have a greater say in the sport's governance.

“

We're super happy ... that we're finally getting to the point where we wanted to be at the very beginning.

The U.S. Open announced a record $108 million prize purse for this year's tournament. Concurrently, the four Grand Slam tournaments unveiled plans for an advisory council, a move that comes after sustained pressure from leading players. This collective action signals a potential shift in the relationship between players and tournament organizers, aiming to ease past tensions. Sabalenka noted, "We're super happy ... that we're finally getting to the point where we wanted to be at the very beginning."

Sabalenka and men's world number one Jannik Sinner were among the top players who participated in a protest at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. They limited their pre-tournament media availabilities to 15 minutes, symbolizing the approximately 15% of tournament revenue that was allocated to player prize money. This action underscored the players' demand for a higher percentage of revenue to be distributed as prize money.

“

I think it's been amazing what the players have been able to accomplish. They have never had anything like this as far as with the slams being able to generate a council, also the player welfare contribution, and then another increase in prize money.

Pegula, who has taken a leading role in player discussions with tennis's governing bodies, highlighted the importance of unity between the men's and women's tours. "I think it's been amazing what the players have been able to accomplish," Pegula stated. "They have never had anything like this as far as with the slams being able to generate a council, also the player welfare contribution, and then another increase in prize money." She added that while progress has been made, "there is still of course more work to do," particularly concerning the structure and authority of the new advisory council.

“

There is still of course more work to do. Going into the council, we'll see how that's constructed, and who's on it and how it's made up, and then I think a lot of discussions will have to go through there.