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Stan Wawrinka slams Grand Slam tournaments for 'ridiculous' distribution of prize money

Originally posted on Tennisbuzz | By Matthew Johns | Last updated 11/22/23

Stan Wawrinka has slammed the Grand Slam tournaments, claiming that they 'do not redistribute enough to tennis compared to the income they generate'.

Wawrinka is the seventh highest earner in ATP history in terms of prize money, collecting a total of $36,558,554.

However, the former No.3 does not think that the majors distribute enough of their revenue to the players.

"They do not redistribute enough to tennis compared to the income they generate," said Wawrinka. And they have way too much power because they make [so much] money."

He continued, “[Grand Slams are] where the history of tennis is written. These are the richest Federations which do not redistribute much. Even between them, there is no communication.

"The income from Grand Slams today is very important and the percentage returned to players is ridiculous. It has hardly increased at all.”

In 2022 the US Open reported a revenue of $472million, with approximately $60million (13%) of this being offered in the form of prize money to the players.

The prize pot increased by 8% for this year's US Open, however the revenue figures have not been made public yet.

Wawrinka does not seem satisfied with this though, “You are talking about the prize money, not the percentage paid. As revenues have increased significantly at the same time.

“Grand Slam tournaments only concern their interest, for their country and their Federation. Today, we are stuck until the day the players say stop.”

The 38-year-old has also hit out at the lack of communication from tournaments, focussing especially on the Australian Open's announcement that the 2024 tournament will be extended to 15 days.

“Tennis Australia showed up to say, 'We’re starting on the first Sunday', like that, thank you goodbye,” said the 2014 Australian Open champion. “Did anyone ask us what we thought about it? No. It’s like that. From the outside, you tell yourself that this is not normal! That means we don’t work together.

He added, “The real problem with tennis is that most things are done in reaction. Nobody anticipates anything. We must include the players in the discussions to also explain to them the reasons for such and such discussions."

Another big topic of conversation on the tennis circuit at the moment is the frequent changes of balls causing injuries.

This is something that Wawrinka has also been very outspoken on, “When it comes to balls, the tournaments don’t want to agree because they all have a different sponsor, and at the same time we still have to fight to have enough to train with.

The world No.50 continued, "We go in circles. I’ve been on the circuit for 20 years and we talk about the same problems over and over again. The problem with tennis is that there are too many governances, too many different entities which only look out for their own interests. Today, the real problem in tennis is the Grand Slams.”

This article first appeared on Tennisbuzz and was syndicated with permission.

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