John Isner, co-host of one of the top tennis podcasts, strongly supports tennis players’ current push for a bigger cut of Grand Slam revenue.
The former top-ranked American men’s player told Front Office Sports he was “a fan” of the 15-minute media boycott that current men’s and women’s stars did at the French Open in May.
Players, including world No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, limited their pre-tournament media availability to 15 minutes at Roland-Garros, which symbolized the 15% share of revenue players typically receive at Grand Slam tournaments. Players are seeking 22% by 2030.
“I do think that revenue on the players’ side needs to come up,” said Isner, who made more than $22.4 million during his playing career. “You look at other pro sports—and I’m not comparing tennis as an individual sport to these team sports—but they have 50–50 splits of these numbers and tennis does not. I think the revenue for the players still needs to go up because at the end of the day, the players are the product.”
Players receive at or close to 50% share of revenue in the NFL, NBA, and NHL, a product of collective bargaining done by a players’ union that tennis does not have. A more apt comparison may be with UFC and its fighters, who historically receive at most 20% of revenue.
