World number one Aryna Sabalenka has asked the Grand Slams to "come to the table" as the leading stars ramp up the pressure over their calls for increased prize money and greater player welfare.

Sabalenka is among the top 20 men's and women's players who have asked the four majors - Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open - for the whole field to receive a larger share of the revenue generated by tournaments. The group of players also want a promise that meaningful change to the structure of the tournaments and support provided by the Slams - to protect their physical and mental health - will be implemented.

The Grand Slams insist they remain open to constructive dialogue about the sport's future. They have also strongly defended what they already offer the players in terms of prize money and state-of-the-art facilities. "The Slams are the top of our sport. I would just ask that they come to the table to have a conversation and see if we can find mutually beneficial solutions," Sabalenka said.

Sabalenka (pic), who won her fourth major singles title at the US Open last month, joins a growing number of star players who are speaking out publicly as they look to force change. Fellow Grand Slam champions Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff have been among the big names outlining their concerns.

After holding meetings with the Grand Slams earlier this year, the players fear the discussions have stalled and are frustrated by a belief they are not being listened to. They have decided to apply pressure by being vocal publicly and are willing to consider further steps of action.

The Grand Slams continue to emphasise their belief that the structural challenges facing the sport - a long season with few breaks and a short off-season - is a greater problem for the players. The players have sent individual proposals to each of the four Grand Slams for the changes they would like to see implemented.

There are three broad areas of concern:

  • prize money - a higher ratio of prize money-to-revenue in acknowledgement of what players contribute to the financial success of the tournaments, with more money trickling down the draws
  • player welfare - how much the Grand Slams are willing to contribute to pension, healthcare and maternity pots
  • more consultation - the players want a say in major decisions made by the Slams to alleviate gruelling schedules, late night finishes and elongated tournaments

Sinner believes the Grand Slams should make a "fair contribution to support all players", with the men's world number one wanting player pensions and healthcare to be addressed immediately. Currently, the Grand Slams do not contribute to player welfare programmes.

The ATP Tour and WTA Tour stump up £60m between them in financial support and the leading players would like the majors to make a similar contribution. In an interview, American top-10 player Ben Shelton highlighted the disparity in the percentage of revenue to prize money between tennis and other sports.

Representatives of the players say the Grand Slam tournaments - which are the pinnacle of the sport - paid between 12.5% and 20% of their revenue to the players in 2024. However, Grand Slam insiders dispute those figures. The Australian Open, for example, is believed to calculate it offers 23% of its revenue in prize money.

Dialogue between the group of players - who are represented by former WTA chief Larry Scott - and the Grand Slam powerbrokers began earlier this year.