Prize money at this year's French Open will increase by 9.5%, according to multiple reports. The French Tennis Federation's percentage increase is nearly twice as high as last year's, with the largest rises aimed at the qualifying competition and early rounds. Qualifying round prize money increased by nearly 13%, while first-round losers' pay jumped 11.5% to 87,000 euros. However, this increase does not match the 20% rise implemented by last year's US Open or recent hikes by the Australian Open. Players are campaigning for greater prize money contributions from Grand Slams toward welfare benefits, with Jessica Pegula among those leading the effort. According to BBC Sport, Jessica Pegula described the need to help the sport's ecosystem by spreading funds more evenly across lower rounds rather than concentrating them at the tournament's end.
For the first time, players will be allowed to wear data-collecting portable devices on court at the French Open. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo announced that players can wear approved fitness trackers at Roland Garros, following incidents at the Australian Open where Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz were asked to remove such devices before matches. A trial for fitness trackers has been agreed that will extend to Wimbledon and the US Open, though the exact dates for this extension remain unspecified. The French Open will not expand cameras in player areas this year, with Mauresmo stating during a press conference that players need a private area, something which will not change, and there will be no camera access there.
The tournament will not adopt innovations like the '1 Point Slam' seen at the Australian Open, with Mauresmo explaining that their ambition is not to repeat everything that's done elsewhere and that this does not correspond to the image of Roland Garros. It will continue to use human line judges instead of electronic line-calling systems, as Mauresmo noted that they are not 100% reliable, but their decision was to stick to their way. She is open to women playing five-set matches similar to men, saying that you can't change a format overnight to go from best of three to best of five, but if they think about it, it could be for only the semifinal, the final, or for all matches.
I do think the US Open stepped up a lot in that aspect. But even in that case all the money went towards the end of the tournament and what we're looking for is how we help the ecosystem of the sport and maybe that's spreading it out in the lower rounds a little bit more evenly. There are a lot of people that are trying to survive so I think it's helping seeing them contribute to that and not just solely to the person that wins the tournament. We love playing the Slams - I don't think anyone's going to strike against the Slams. I just think it's us asking for what we think we deserve, but I do think that if the men and the women can come together - which we have on that front - and keep pushing, there's nothing wrong with us just asking for what we think is right.
Player privacy concerns have been highlighted following the Australian Open, where Iga Swiatek said players were being watched like animals in the zoo. Coco Gauff called for more privacy after being caught on camera smashing her racquet, and Jessica Pegula described constant filming as an invasion of privacy. Mauresmo addressed these issues, stating that broadcasters want to know more about players, but they want to maintain respect for their privacy and that players need to have a private area, so they won't change on that stance.
Casper Ruud, who has delivered his best results at the French Open, reached the final in 2022 and 2023 and the semifinal in 2024. He withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters last week due to injury and is skipping this week's ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona.
The French Open will start on Sunday, 24 May at Roland Garros in western Paris, according to major media. This year's tournament will feature an opening ceremony before the men's and women's finals, lasting about six minutes and orchestrated by French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, though the detailed schedule for this ceremony is not yet confirmed.
Singles champions will each receive 2.8 million euros, with runners-up getting 1.4 million euros, according to multiple reports. Doubles winners will receive 600,000 euros. The specific welfare benefits players are campaigning for from the Grand Slams have not been detailed, and it is unclear how many players will participate in the fitness tracker trial or what exact data they will collect with the approved devices.