Australian Open 2026: Madison Keys, Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff on deamnds for greater Grand Slam prize money and welfare benefits

There are three broads areas of concern the players want addressing:

Dialogue between the group of players – who are represented by former WTA chief Larry Scott – and the Grand Slam powerbrokers began almost a year ago.

In March, the players sent a letter to the four Grand Slams asking for a meeting.

Keys, along with Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur, Casper Ruud and Coco Gauff, met with leaders from all four Grand Slams at last year’s French Open to discuss their concerns.

That was followed by individual meetings with each Slam at Wimbledon, attended on behalf of the players by men’s world number three Zverev and women’s semi-finalist Belinda Bencic.

The benefit of those meetings has split opinion.

Keys labelled them “the most productive conversations we’ve ever had”.

“[That] leads me to be carefully optimistic for the future,” the American world number nine said on Friday.

“But I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest to continue to be really good partners to each other. We all need each other.

“We all want to try to do whatever we can to support each other.”

Zverev does not share that confidence. The 27-year-old German attended the meetings as an ATP Tour representative who sits on the players council, but felt there was too much talk and not enough action.

He puts that down to the fragmented nature of tennis governance and separate bodies – the Grand Slams, ATP Tour, WTA Tour and ITF – having their own interests to look after.

“It sometimes does feel like the governing bodies don’t get along so well,” Zverev, who was runner-up at Melbourne Park last year, said.

“It’s very difficult to get them in one room and talk about what is good for the future of tennis.

“Maybe it’s a question towards those guys more than towards players, because we are just bystanders.”