Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek explain reason behind writing bombshell letter to Grand Slams demanding better prize money

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Poland’s Iga Swiatek have spoken at length about writing a letter to Grand Slams about prize money. Recently, French publication L’Equipe, in a report, stated that top-20 players have written a letter, which was ‘co-signed’ to the Grand Slams, demanding increase in the prize money.

“In essence, this letter calls for a greater distribution of profits generated by the four pillars of the tour to benefit the main stakeholders: the players, without whom the show would not take place,” the report stated.

Swiatek, who is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category, along with the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, has been quoted in a report by Tennis 365 where she stated why she decided to write a letter, citing other sports as a point of reference.

“Well, I think, like, there’s some data available on the internet about the comparison between tennis and other sports,” said Swiatek who is currently taking part in the Stuttgart Open. “For sure, we’ve been discussing with Grand Slams about many topics. Yeah, I mean, it could be better, but I’m not going to say a lot because, first of all, we need to figure it out kind of internally. For sure, there’s some time needed to do that. Yeah, I don’t want to speak out right now about that.”

On the other hand, Alcaraz, who is also regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Italy’s Jannik Sinner, has also been quoted in the same report where he stated that the reason behind him writing the letter was that things much improve in tennis. “Tennis is a well-paid sport, but it can always be improved because there is a percentage that can be increased for the circuit and the players. Tennis is a well-paid sport, but the percentages have to be fair,” he said. “If we put on a show so the fans can enjoy it and pay to see us, then the percentage has to be close to what we deserve. And that’s why we’ve come together.”