Jessica Pegula has jumped to the defence of her fellow tennis players after calling for Grand Slams to offer more prize money.
Last year, top 20 players on both the ATP and WTA Tours sent a letter to Grand Slams calling for more prize money.
Players have received some backlash for this, given the significant earnings top players already receive.
However, after losing in her Miami Open quarterfinal to Elena Rybakina, Pegula has defended her and other players’ stance on this.
Jessica Pegula responds when asked if she would play without prize money at the US Open and Wimbledon
Rybakina beat Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, to send the American out of the Miami Open at the quarterfinal stage.
As well as being asked about the match in her press conference, Pegula was also asked about Grand Slam prize money.
It is no secret that Pegula is from a wealthy background, as the daughter of the owner of the Buffalo Bills’ Terry Pegula, and she has also earned over $1.7million in tennis prize money.
Pegula was initially asked if she would be willing to play Wimbledon and the US Open, to which she responded, “No prize money? I don’t know!”
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A big argument for players asking for more prize money is to get a greater share of the revenue the Grand Slams earn, and Pegula was asked if this is fair as a lot of the money goes back into grass roots tennis.
Pegula answered by pointing out that a lot of the increases in prize money are not proportionate to the increases in revenue a Grand Slam makes, and lower ranked players are not receiving the same increases.
“I think that’s why we are at the point where we want to ask, can we do this?” said Pegula. “First of all you don’t know unless you ask or you try. If you push for some sort of change we have seen that in the past within our sport, sometimes you have to fight for what you think is right.
“It’s about the percentage of prize money more so because we have seen how much money they have made. The US Open is making so much money. I think it’s one of the highest grossing, if not the highest grossing, sporting event in the world.
“Fair enough last year they did increase some of the prize money, more so towards the top, which is not exactly what we wanted but at least shows they are somewhat aware of increasing that. I think we just want the ecosystem of our sport to be sustainable for all players.
“We see the tours give a lot back to player welfare to make that sustainable for our players and we just don’t see that from them [Grand Slams]. I think as the sport continues to grow and as it has grown and we have seen with the amazing events they do put on that we all love to play, I think it’s fair for us to ask for that to go up as they continue to make more money.
“We have seen – whether it’s through inflation or not – the needle is not moving as much as it may seem. Because it’s increased so much this year and we have increased it again this year, this year and this year, but they are making more and more money every single year. I think it’s about balancing that out and we see that in a lot of other sports as well. I think, of course, we want more prize money but the bottom line is the sustainability.
“We have seen a lot of these stories of lower ranked players where they survive on a Slam pay check for their entire year and we want to see the sport grow as much as it’s been growing for the fans and TV. I think that’s a fair question to ask and hopefully we can keep having that discussion with them in the future.”
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How did the prize money at the Australian Open change this year?
The only evidence we have of Grand Slams increasing prize money so far this year has come at the Australian Open.
A tournament record of A$111,500,000 in total prize money was offered at the Australian Open this year, which was a near 16% increase from 2025.
It is notable that the biggest percentage increase in the singles draws was for the champions, Carlos Alcaraz and Rybakina, supporting Pegula’s point.
However, the next biggest percentage increase in Grand Slam prize money did come in qualifying, which features players who need this prize money more than those at the top.
| AO Prize Money | W | F | SF | QF | R16 | R32 | R64 | R128 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| 2025 | A$3,500,000 | A$1,900,000 | A$1,100,000 | A$665,000 | A$420,000 | A$290,000 | A$200,000 | A$132,000 | A$72,000 | A$49,000 | A$35,000 |
| 2026 | A$4,150,000 | A$2,150,000 | A$1,250,000 | A$750,000 | A$480,000 | A$327,750 | A$225,000 | A$150,000 | A$83,500 | A$57,000 | A$40,500 |
| Increase | A$650,000 (+18.6%) | A$250,000 (+13.2%) | A$150,000 (+13.6%) | A$85,000 (+12.8%) | A$60,000 (+14.3%) | A$37,750 (+13.0%) | A$25,000 (+12.5%) | A$18,000 (+13.6%) | A$11,500 (+16.0%) | A$8,000 (+16.3%) | A$5,500 (+15.7%) |
There are still three more Grand Slams taking place in 2026, with the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open yet to announce their prize money.
What is clear is that this ongoing battle between the players and the Grand Slams does not appear to be going away anytime soon.
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