In a shocking turn of events, the top twenty tennis pros representing both the ATP and WTA tours officially wrote an open letter to the heads of the four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open) demanding increased money for the players in the Grand Slams.
As of now, only a share of 17-20% of the revenue from Grand Slam tournaments is given to the tennis player, while in other sports and major leagues, including the NFL and NBA, players receive a whopping share of at least 50% of the revenue from the leagues. Well, labelling it ‘unfair’, twenty top-ranked tennis professional players, including Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Iga Świątek, Aryna Sabalenka and sixteen others, openly called out the organisers of the Grand Slam tournaments.
In this article we will take a look at the top twenty tennis players who demanded a higher share of the Grand Slam tournament’s revenue.
Top 20 Tennis Stars Who Demanded For Higher Grand Slam Prize Money
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Novak Djokovic
The Serbian professional tennis player, Novak Djokovic, who has been ranked as world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for a record 428 weeks across a record 13 different years, and finished as the year-end No. 1a record eight times is at the first spot in our list of the top 20 tennis players who demanded for bigger Grand Slam payouts.
An anecdote of Novak Djokovic’s record is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 1136–227 (83.35%) |
| Career titles | 99 (3rd in the Open Era) |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (4 July 2011) |
| Current ranking | No. 5 (17 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 66–82 (44.6%) |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 114 (30 November 2009) |
| Current ranking | No. 485 (3 March 2025) |
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Jannik Sinner
The 23-year-old Italian professional tennis player, Jannik Sinner, is at the second spot in our list of the top twenty tennis players who demanded a higher share of the Grand Slam tournament’s revenue. As of now, Jannik Sinner has successfully clinched a record total of 19 singles titles on the ATP Tour, including three majors at the 2024 Australian Open, 2024 US Open, and 2025 Australian Open, as well as the 2024 ATP Finals and four Masters 1000 titles.
An anecdote of Sinner’s records is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 270–80 (77.1%) |
| Career titles | 19 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (10 June 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 1 (10 June 2024) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 26–24 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 124 (27 September 2021) |
| Current ranking | No. 349 (10 February 2025 |
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Carlos Alcaraz
Next, at the third spot in our list of the top 20 ranked tennis players who officially signed an open letter to the organisers of the Grand Aslam tournaments demanding a higher share of revenues, we have the Spanish professional tennis player Carlos Alcaraz who has been ranked as the world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), including as the year-end No. 1 in 2022. As of now, Carlos has clinched 17 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including four major titles and five Masters 1000 titles.
An anecdote of Carlos’ records is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 224–60 (78.9%) |
| Career titles | 17 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (12 September 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 3 (4 November 2024) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 7–6 (53.8%) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 519 (9 May 2022) |
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Alexander Zverev
At the fourth spot, we have the current world No. 2 German professional tennis player, Alexander Zverev, who has clinched a record total of 23 ATP Tour titles in singles and two in doubles, and has been runner-up at three majors as of now.
An anecdote of Alexander’s records and rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 477–204 (70.2%) |
| Career titles | 23 |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (13 June 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 2 (4 November 2024) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 69–80 (46.3%) |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 68 (18 March 2019) |
| Current ranking | No. 92 (17 February 2025) |
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Taylor Fritz
American professional tennis player Taylor Harry Fritz is at the fifth spot in our list of the top 20 tennis players who demanded bigger Grand Slam payouts. As of now, Taylor has successfully clinched a total of eight ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters 1000 title at the 2022 Indian Wells Open, and contested a major final at the 2024 US Open as well as the final of the 2024 ATP Finals.
An anecdote of Taylor’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 298–196 |
| Career titles | 8 |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (November 18, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 4 (November 18, 2024) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 53–58 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 104 (July 26, 2021) |
| Current ranking | No. 166 (January 13, 2025) |
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Daniil Medvedev
Russian professional tennis player, Daniil Medvedev is at the next spot in our list of the top 20 tennis players who have written an open letter demanding higher Grand Slams pay-outs. As of now, Daniil has won 20 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including the 2021 US Open and 2020 ATP Finals.
An anecdote of Daniil’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 392–164 (70.6%) |
| Career titles | 20 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (28 February 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 11 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 18–27 (40%) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 170 (19 August 2019) |
| Current ranking | No. 342 (27 January 2025) |
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Casper Ruud
The 26-year-old Norwegian professional tennis player, Casper Ruud, is at the seventh spot in our list of the top twenty tennis players who demanded a higher share of the Grand Slam tournament’s revenue. As of now, Casper has won twelve ATP Tour singles titles and finished runner-up at three majors (at the 2022 French Open, 2022 US Open, and 2023 French Open) and at the 2022 ATP Finals.
An anecdote of Casper Ruud’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 270–144 (65.1%) |
| Career titles | 12 |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (12 September 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 7 (7 April 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 27–37 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 133 (12 July 2021) |
| Current ranking | No. 415 (3 February 2025) |
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
Next in our list we have the highest-ranked Greek professional player in the history of tennis, Stefanos Tsitsipas. As of now, Stefanos has clinched twelve ATP Tour singles titles and finished runner-up at three majors (at the 2022 French Open, 2022 US Open, and 2023 French Open) and at the 2022 ATP Finals.
An anecdote of Stefanos’ rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 270–144 (65.1%) |
| Career titles | 12 |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (12 September 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 7 (7 April 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 27–37 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 133 (12 July 2021) |
| Current ranking | No. 415 (3 February 2025) |
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Andrey Rublev
Russian professional tennis player Andrey Rublev is at the ninth spot in our list of the top twenty tennis players who demand a higher share of Grand Slam tournament’s revenue. As of now, Andrey has won 17 ATP Tour singles titles, including two Masters 1000events at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters and the 2024 Madrid Open, and has also clinched four ATP Tour-level doubles titles, including a Masters 1000 event at the 2023 Madrid Open partnering Karen Khachanov, and a gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics partnering Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
An anecdote of Andrey’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 344–191 (64.7%) |
| Career titles | 17 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (13 September 2021) |
| Current ranking | No. 9 (17 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 83–81 (50.6%) |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | No. 44 (6 November 2023) |
| Current ranking | No. 246 (17 February 2025) |
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Alex de Minaur
The 26-year-old Australian professional tennis player, Alex de Minaur, is at the next spot in our list of the top 20 tennis players who demanded bigger Grand Slam payouts. As of now, Alex has clinched nine ATP Tour singles titles and one title in doubles, and has reached five major quarterfinals.
An anecdote of Alex’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 266–161 (62.0%) |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (15 July 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 10 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 34–57 (37.4%) |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 58 (12 October 2020) |
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Iga Świątek
Polish professional tennis player, Iga Świątek, who has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women’s singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for a total of 125 weeks, is at the next spot in our list of the top twenty tennis players who demanded a higher share of the Grand Slam tournaments revenue. As of now, Iga Świątek has clinched 22 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including five major titles: four at the French Open and one at the US Open. Additionally, she has also clinched the 2023 WTA Finals and ten WTA 1000 titles.
An anecdote of Iga Świątek’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 346–76 |
| Career titles | 22 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (4 April 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 2 (10 February 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 27–14 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 29 (14 February 2022) |
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Aryna Sabalenka
Belarusian professional tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka, who is currently ranked as the world No. 1 in women’s singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and is a former world No. 1 in women’s doubles, is at the 12th spot in our list of the top 20 tennis players who officially wrote an open letter to the heads of the four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and US Open) demanding increased money for the players in the Grand Slams.
As of now, Aryna has clinched 19 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including three majors at the 2023 Australian Open, 2024 Australian Open, and 2024 US Open, as well as eight WTA 1000 events. Additionally, she has also won six doubles titles, including two majors at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open.
An anecdote of Aryna Sabalenka’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 433–192 |
| Career titles | 19 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (11 September 2023) |
| Current ranking | No. 1 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 90–67 |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (22 February 2021) |
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Coco Gauff
American professional tennis player, Cori Dionne “Coco” Gauff, who has nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including the 2023 US Open and 2024 WTA Finals, and nine doubles titles, including the 2024 French Open, is next in our list of the top twenty tennis players who demanded a higher share of the Grand Slam tournaments revenue.
An anecdote of Coco Gauff’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 234–99 (70.3%) |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (June 10, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 4 (April 7, 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 136–61 |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (August 15, 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 11 (June 24, 2024) |
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Jessica Pegula
Next we have the American professional tennis player Jessica Pegula who has career-high rankings in singles of world No. 3, achieved on October 24, 2022, and in doubles of world No. 1, achieved on September 11, 2023.
An anecdote of Jessica Pegula’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 454–254 |
| Career titles | 8 |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (October 24, 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 3 (April 7, 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 243–143 |
| Career titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (September 11, 2023) |
| Current ranking | No. 61 (March 31, 2025) |
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Madison Keys
At the 15th spot in our list of the top twenty tennis players who advocated for a greater share of Grand Slam tournament revenues we have another American professional tennis player, Madison Keys who has so far clinched ten career singles titles, including a major at the 2025 Australian Open.
An anecdote of Madison Keys’ rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 398–220 |
| Career titles | 10 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (February 24, 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 5 (March 31, 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 28–38 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 56 (October 24, 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 536 (March 10, 2025) |
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Mirra Andreeva
Next in our list of the top 20 who openly demanded a bigger share of the Grand Slams revenue, we have Russian professional tennis player Mirra Aleksandrovna Andreeva, who has won three WTA Toursingles titles, including two WTA 1000 events, and achieved her best major result at the 2024 French Open by reaching the semifinals at the age of 17.
An anecdote of Mirra Andreeva’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 128–37 (77.6%) |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (17 March 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 7 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 27–19 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 18 (31 March 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 18 (31 March 2025) |
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Jasmine Paolini
Next we have the Italian professional tennis player Jasmine Paolini, who has successfully clinched two singles and seven doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including a WTA 1000 singles title at the 2024 Dubai Championships, two WTA 1000 doubles titles (2024 Italian Open and 2024 China Open), and an Olympic gold medal in doubles.
An anecdote of Jasmine Paolini’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 398–276 (58.9%) |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (28 October 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 6 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 88–74 |
| Career titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (17 March 2025) |
| Current ranking | No. 6 (31 March 2025) |
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Emma Navarro
At the 18th spot in our list of the top 20 tennis players who demand bigger Grand Slam payouts, we have American professional tennis player, Emma Navarro, who has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached a major semifinal at the 2024 US Open as of now.
An anecdote of Emma Navarro’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 214–118 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 8 (September 9, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 11 (March 31, 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 28–36 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 93 (August 12, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 142 (March 3, 2025) |
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Paula Badosa
Next in our list we have Spanish professional tennis player Paula Badosa, who has clinched four WTA Toursingles titles, including a WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, and reached a major semifinal at the 2025 Australian Open as of now.
An anecdote of Paula Badosa’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 373–206 |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (25 April 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 9 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 22–23 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 124 (25 April 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 179 (16 December 2024) |
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Zheng Qinwen
At the last spot in our list of the top twenty tennis players who demanded a higher share of the Grand Slam tournament’s revenue, we have Chinese professional tennis player, Zheng Qinwen, who made headlines for clinching the gold medal in women’s singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, defeating world No. 1, Iga Świątek. As of now, Zheng has clinched five WTA Tour titles, one WTA Challenger title, and eight ITFsingles titles.
An anecdote of Zheng Qinwen’s rankings is provided below:
| Singles | |
| Career record | 232–99 |
| Career titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (11 November 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 8 (31 March 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 8–13 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 724 (26 October 2020) |
