Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic Agree That Grand Slams Should Increase Prize Money

Roger Federer has revealed he is in agreement with Novak Djokovic that the prize money on offer at Grand Slams should be higher. 

Per Metro's George Bellshaw, he said:

"Yes, they could definitely pay more, no doubt about it.

"We're not partners. We're just players. It's always hard to rally. We had a good agreement, in my opinion, that made the Grand Slams happy, the players pretty happy. Seems like that has run its course.

"The moment that happens, there's not the same increases any more, so players have to rally, get back together again, put in the effort. The Grand Slams know that. They will only react when we do so. We're ready to do it. It's going to be the same process over and over again."

Federer added: "If you look at the revenue, the sharing process, it's not quite where it's supposed to be. But, look, you can't go from here to right there in a day."

Djokovic, who is president of the ATP player council reportedly proposed the players form a union to challenge the prize money distributed at majors, particularly for lower-ranked players.

Fellow tennis star and compatriot of Djokovic's, Viktor Troicki, is also in agreement on the issue, per Sport Klub's Sasa Ozmo:

Djokovic has denied talks about a union, though, per tennis journalist Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca:

The players will share a pot of £31.8 million in prize money at the Australian Open this year, which represents a 10 per cent increase on 2017.

However, according to the Telegraph's Simon Briggs, the prize money dished out is only around seven per cent of the income the Grand Slam receives—with the same going for Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the French Open—putting tennis players at a disadvantage compared with athletes in other sports.

The issue will be a difficult one to resolve—particularly as tournament organisers can point to steadily increasing prize money over the years—but perhaps the best chance for a resolution in the players' favour is for the biggest names in the sport to speak up, and in Federer, there are none more high profile.