The tennis player association leading a lawsuit against the biggest tournaments and bodies in the sport has reached a settlement deal with one of the four Grand Slams, breaking from the positions of the other three.
The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) and Tennis Australia, which operates the Australian Open, “are working together to memorialize the terms” of a settlement that will have a long-form agreement by early 2026, according to a letter filed to the United States District Court on Tuesday.
The nature of the settlement is yet to be disclosed.
On the same day, the organizers of Wimbledon and the French and U.S. Opens filed a new joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The French Tennis Federation and All England Lawn Tennis Club filed a separate motion arguing that a U.S. court does not have jurisdiction over them, and the U.S. Tennis Association filed to compel arbitration with some of the players named in the suit. The PTPA has also filed complaints in Europe and the United Kingdom.
Ahmad Nassar, the PTPA’s executive director, said via text message that the organization wished that “everyone would make more effort to resolve these matters for the benefit of players, fans, and tournaments alike as soon as possible.”
Representatives of the four Grand Slams did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ATP and WTA Tours, the other two defendants in the lawsuit, which describes the sport’s governing bodies as a “cartel” and cites “anti-competitive practices and a blatant disregard for player welfare,” filed motions to dismiss it earlier this year which are still in process. The men’s tour described the suit as “entirely without merit,” while the WTA labeled it “baseless.”
The lawsuit is not the only pressure being applied to the foundations of tennis. In recent months, a collection of top men’s and women’s stars have held separate discussions with the four Grand Slams about prize money — arguing to receive a greater proportion of the tournaments’ revenues — as well as pension contributions. Grand Slam prize money, while ever-increasing and huge, with $85 million in the U.S. Open’s purse this year, typically represents around 15 to 22 per cent of each tournament’s revenue.
The essential claims of both groups would bring tennis more in line with other sports leagues that have collective bargaining agreements; tennis players are essentially independent contractors and do not have teams able to maneuver on their behalf.
This lets them choose their schedules, but discontent among some players has grown over entry rules and the lengthening of some tournaments, which have brought increased prize money. Top players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, however, have said that it made the season too physically and mentally taxing.
The majors say that their other obligations, including funding tennis development in their respective countries, must be taken into account when setting prize money.
The desires of the players lobbying the Grand Slams and the PTPA are in some ways analogous to those which animated the antitrust lawsuit filed against NASCAR by Michael Jordan’s 23XI team and Front Row Motorsports, which reached a settlement Thursday December 11.
The Australian Open main draw begins January 18, and now takes on an even more intriguing place in the politics at the top of the sport.