Italian Open Backs Players in Prize Money Fight as Rome Pushes Bold Grand Slam Ambition

BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA

The growing dispute over prize money in professional tennis has intensified ahead of the French Open, with organizers of the Italian Open openly backing players who are threatening to boycott Grand Slam tournaments unless compensation improves significantly.

At the center of the debate is Angelo Binaghi, who has seized on the controversy to strengthen Italy’s ambitious campaign to transform the Rome tournament into what he hopes could eventually become tennis’ fifth Grand Slam event.

Leading players on both the ATP and WTA tours have voiced growing frustration over what they believe is an unfair distribution of revenue at the sport’s four major tournaments — the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Championships and the US Open.

Players have specifically criticized the French Open for allegedly allocating only 14.3% of tournament revenues to player compensation, a figure substantially below the estimated 22% revenue share distributed at ATP and WTA events such as the Italian Open.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and American star Coco Gauff were among the prominent names this week suggesting that players may consider boycotting Grand Slam tournaments if financial conditions fail to improve.

Binaghi publicly sided with the players, sharply criticizing what he described as an outdated and unfair economic structure within tennis.

“The players have our full support,” Binaghi said. “It’s scandalous that we’re required by the ATP to share a bigger cut of the revenues with the players and the four Grand Slams hand out a smaller cut.”

He argued that the imbalance creates major financial inequalities within global tennis because the nations hosting Grand Slam events possess far greater resources to invest in player development, facilities and technical programs compared with other countries.

“It’s shameful and creates competitive disparities, too, because the four nations that organize the Slams have a huge amount of money to invest in their technical sectors that other nations don’t have,” Binaghi added. “I want to blow apart this monopoly.”

The comments represent one of the strongest public challenges yet to the traditional Grand Slam system, which has dominated professional tennis for more than a century.

The debate over prize money also arrives as Italy experiences one of the greatest periods in its tennis history.

With Jannik Sinner firmly established as the world’s top-ranked men’s player and several other Italians climbing into the ATP Top 20, the country has become a major force in international tennis. Alongside Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli and Luciano Darderi are all ranked among the world’s elite.

Italy has also enjoyed major success in team competitions, winning the Davis Cup for three consecutive years while also capturing back-to-back titles in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Binaghi, who inherited a federation struggling financially nearly 25 years ago, now believes Italy is in a unique position to challenge the traditional power structure of tennis.

“We’re experiencing a stretch of tennis in Italy that will be tough to repeat,” he said, while contrasting tennis’ rise with the struggles of Italian football after Italy national football team failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

The federation president has spent more than a year aggressively promoting the idea of elevating the Italian Open into a fifth Grand Slam alongside the sport’s four historic majors. Such a move would represent one of the most dramatic changes in modern tennis history.

Yet despite the momentum surrounding Italian tennis, major obstacles remain.

One of the biggest challenges is infrastructure. The tournament is hosted at Rome’s historic Foro Italico, a venue famous for its marble statues and iconic clay courts but one that faces severe limitations when it comes to expansion.

Binaghi acknowledged that the current site may not be capable of supporting a Grand Slam-sized event without significant changes.

“We’re open to organizing a fifth Grand Slam anywhere in Italy — on any surface,” he said.

Renovation work is already planned for the tournament’s main stadium, Campo Centrale, immediately after this year’s edition concludes. Organizers are preparing to install a retractable roof, with construction expected to be completed in time for the 2028 tournament.

The redevelopment project will also increase seating capacity from 10,500 to approximately 12,400 spectators.

Despite strong attendance growth, the Italian Open still trails the major tournaments significantly in scale. Organizers hope to surpass 400,000 ticket sales this year, while the French Open attracted nearly 700,000 spectators last year.

Binaghi suggested Rome alone may not ultimately be sufficient for Italy’s larger ambitions.

“If we’re going to aim big, we shouldn’t focus exclusively on the Foro Italico, because there are a lot of issues here in terms of transport and temporary venues,” he said.

His willingness to potentially move the tournament away from the iconic Foro Italico marks a major shift in thinking for one of tennis’ most visually recognizable venues.

“These days, the beauty factor is just added value; it’s not decisive,” Binaghi explained. “The people don’t come to see the statues anymore. They come to see Sinner, Musetti, Jasmine Paolini and the other Italian players.”

Jasmine Paolini delivered a historic performance for Italy last year by winning the women’s singles title in Rome and also capturing the doubles crown alongside partner Sara Errani.

This year, however, much of the attention centers on Sinner, who enters the tournament as the overwhelming favorite to become the first Italian man in 50 years to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta triumphed in Rome.

Aside from Olympic gold, the Italian Open and French Open remain the only major titles missing from Sinner’s rapidly expanding trophy collection. His chances have improved even further following the withdrawal of chief rival Carlos Alcaraz, who will miss both tournaments due to a right wrist injury.

Binaghi even joked that Sinner completing a Rome-Paris double could leave him with little left to achieve as federation president.

“If Sinner wins in Rome and Paris, maybe I should step down,” he said.

“If it happens, we’ll take stock of all the opportune and logical consequences.”

The Italian Open also attempted to introduce a mixed doubles competition this year during the weekend before the singles draw begins, but ATP and WTA scheduling regulations prevented the idea from moving forward because the Madrid Open concludes during the same period.

Another issue drawing attention is the tournament’s prize money structure between men and women.

For years, the Italian Open has offered different total prize pools for ATP and WTA players. This year, the men’s event carries total prize money of approximately $9.6 million compared with $8.3 million for the women’s tournament.

However, organizers point out that the women’s singles champion this year will actually receive slightly more prize money than the men’s winner, with the women’s champion earning 1.055 million euros compared to 1.007 million euros for the men’s title.

As debate continues over financial fairness, tournament expansion and the future structure of professional tennis, the Italian Open has positioned itself at the center of some of the sport’s most important conversations — both on and off the court.