Players Seeking Greater Share of Grand Slam Revenues

Written by: Staff on 3rd July 2012

Players Seeking Greater Share of Grand Slam Revenues

epa03285544 Gilles Simon of France returns to Xavier Malisse of Belgium during their second round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2012. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

New ATP Player Council member Gilles Simon made waves at Wimbledon by coming out against equal prize money for women, but there are bigger issues on the table, including negotiations with the Grand Slam about getting a bigger slice of their revenue pie.

Another new ATP Player Council member, James Cerretani, told Daily Tennis that negotiations are on going and look promising. “We are being more united and more cohesive,” Cerretani said.

Currently, the four Grand Slams pay players in the range of between 5 and 15 percent of their total revenues. This year Roland Garros raised its total prize money to $24.6 millions, or about 7 percent. Singles players who lost the first round though, saw their take jump about 20 percent.

Wimbledon increased its total prize money to $25.9 million, or 10 percent, and gave first-round losers a 26.1 percent raise. The US Open has yet to announce its expected increase.

“I think it’s a nice gesture on behalf of Slams to in increase prize money to the first round losers, which comes to $3000 Euros, but relative the overall revenue generated by Grand Slams, it’s not a significant amount of money,” said Cerretani, a doubles player who went to Brown University and study economics. “I don’t think the equation of what the talent is awarded relative to overall revenue is right? Are we being compensated enough? I think the answer would be no.”

This year, Roland Garros was said to have brought in about $174 million before expenses.

“If you break it down to the Grand Slams getting around 87 percent to our 13%, for the players it’s not good enough,” he said.” It’s a drastic discrepancy. You have other sports like the NBA and they have a 53 to 47 percent disparity and they were arguing about percentages at that level. In tennis, the No. 100 guy in the world is making $170,000 a year, gross, and you subtract tax of 30 % and expenses for a coach, and the guy may have a wife and a kid — we are looking $40 to 50 thousand net. A lot of money, yes. But if you are top 100 in the world in your profession, across the board, I think that’s way off.”

Cerretani, who was recruited to the ATP Players Council by ATP board members Justin Gimelstob, and David Egdes and fellow player Eric Butorac, said that the doubles players were happy to get a small prize money increase at the Slams, but says that the doubles compensation relative to singes leaves the doubles players “shorted.”

“I see things that can be improved on and I’m always willing to offer input and see how things can be run more efficiently,” Cerretani said when asked why he was wiling to take responsibility of being a council member. “We are not greedy but we just want to improve out status. Its a capitalist world out there.”

Topics: ATP tennis news, Gilles Simon, James Cerretani, Sports, tournament prize money, Wimbledon, WTA tennis news