A group of top-10 WTA and ATP stars met with the chiefs of each of the four Grand Slams at Roland Garros on Thursday to discuss prize money, player welfare and giving them more say in decisions that directly impact them at the majors.
As previously reported by the Associated Press, the elite of the women’s and men’s tours, including Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff, signed a letter to the four slams at the end of March, requesting an in-person meeting with the heads of the four majors to bring forth the aforementioned issues.
The meeting, which was initially meant to take place at the Madrid Open last month, finally materialised in Paris on Thursday ahead of Sunday's start of the French Open.
Talks lasted around an hour and The National understands it was attended by multiple top players, including Sinner and Gauff.
The players are seeking a greater percentage of tournament revenue, would like the slams to make financial contributions to the player welfare programmes funded by the tours, and perhaps more importantly, demand a seat at the table when it comes to some of the major decisions taken that impact competition, and their wellbeing at tournaments.
In Madrid a few weeks ago, Gauff noted the disparity between the percentage of revenue dedicated to athletes in other sports compared to tennis.
“As you know, tennis and the percentage shared in revenue isn't nearly as close as other sports. So, I definitely think that's something in our sport that we can do. It won't only benefit top players, it will also benefit lower-ranked players as well,” said the American.
“In other sports, you look at the 100th best player in maybe basketball or football or soccer or anything, and the percentage that they give versus our 100th or 200th best is not great.
“So, I think for us, we kind of understood maybe the privilege and the audience that we can get as top players to kind of make that change. So, we just sent that letter, and hopefully to have the conversation get started, and hopefully how that can improve in the future.”
The majors have been increasing their prize money commitment almost every year. This year, Roland Garros is offering a total prize pot of €56.352 million, up 5.21 per cent from last year. There will be prize money increases in every round and the men’s and women’s singles champions will each earn €2.55 million.
Gauff added: “I'm very aware that we are professional athletes, and we do live a very privileged life and make money doing something that, you know, is pretty easy. Not easy, but you know what I mean. I think it's just a very nuanced conversation.”
“I always say this, especially as a female athlete in tennis, I always say that when I look at other sports, we're very privileged. You look at WNBA and even some of the soccer, and the money they're getting for the amount of effort they put in is not close.
“So, I'm very lucky that tennis had pioneers like Billie Jean King and Venus Williams [who] started that conversation very early on. So, yeah, I think it's just continuing that conversation within our sport, but also having that conversation so that other sports can reach that too.”
The fact that the women and men are coming together to raise such issues is fairly unprecedented, especially in recent tennis history.
Conversations about approaching the Grand Slams started several months ago and were spearheaded by members of the WTA Player Council, according to world No 3 Pegula.
The letter sent to the majors coincided with the antitrust lawsuit filed by the PTPA, a player association co-founded by Djokovic, against the ATP and WTA tours but Pegula insists the two initiatives are completely unrelated.
“It's totally unrelated. 100 per cent unrelated,” Pegula said in Madrid. “It's something that we were working on seven, eight months ago. So it's just been in the works. I don't want to say, like, too much because it hasn't really gone anywhere yet. It's just started. It's new.
“But I'll definitely say it's not related to what the PTPA are doing. It was honestly just a coincidence of the timing.”
Reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys was part of the early conversations sparked by the WTA Player Council. The American world No 7 believes having a seat, and a voice, at the table is will be crucial moving forward.
“We really wanted to have a more open communication with the slams and just at least know what was going on. And so that was really a big thing that we kind of started and pushed,” said Keys in the Spanish capital.
“And I feel like it's just been years and years of finally getting it here. And I would imagine that the council at this point felt like it was a good time to bring the men in as well and have a unified voice.
“But yeah, it's just we want some more open communication and just the ability to kind of be in the room when decisions are being made.”
While full details of what happened in the meeting are yet to be revealed, The National understands that the next steps will involve the players contacting the Grand Slams about committing to a timeline to start addressing their demands.
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
