Djokovic claims still “room for improvement” on Grand Slam prize money, despite largest purse in tennis history at 2025 US Open.
Novak Djokovic claims that Grand Slam tournaments still have work to do in bridging the gap between recent player demands and increases in prize money.
Tournament prize money has again been a contentious focal point this season, with the ATP and WTA’s top 20 players signing a letter asking for a greater percentage of the four Grand Slams’ revenue back in April.
Ahead of this year’s US Open, tournament organisers of the year’s last Grand Slam revealed an increase of 20% in prize money, claiming to be offering the “largest purse in tennis history.”
However, while Djokovic acknowledges that this increase is a “step in the right direction”, he believes that there is still some way to go to meet player demands, once factors such as inflation and increased tournament revenue are taken into account.
“Look, it’s a step in the right direction,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said when asked about the issue during media day’s flurry of pre-tournament press conferences.
“Obviously it’s always nice and positive to see that Grand Slams are willing to improve the prize money overall across the board for the players. Whether it’s an ideal situation for us, I think overall I don’t think so. I think there is still a lot more room for improvement in that sense.”
The Serb was quick to reiterate that he doesn’t necessarily want the prize money to increase for himself, but for the sake of lower-ranked players who continue to struggle to make a living on the professional tour, despite the vast levels of wealth involved in tennis.
“I see that in the past when I talk about this topic, people like to say, ‘well, look at him, wanting more money for himself’. It’s not about that,” Djokovic continued.
“I’m just talking about overall. Not many tennis players live out of this sport globally. That’s not something that I see has been talked about enough. And for Grand Slams, they are doing very well as well. So the US Open increased the prize money. Other slams are doing it too. But they also have a bigger revenue than the previous year.”
Djokovic continued:
“Then there is the inflation part, which is a completely different topic, but important to take in consideration when you talk about these things. Overall it’s definitely a positive step.”
