Djokovic among 12-player panel to meet with tennis majors

A dialogue between the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments and disgruntled players has moved a step closer, as sources confirmed to AFP on Monday the 12 members of a proposed advisory council.

Novak Djokovic, who has won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, and women’s No. 1 Elena Rybakina head the list posted on social media earlier Monday by Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated.

The four Grand Slams – the US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon – announced the creation of the council on the eve of the US Open in August. The move followed protests at the French Open and Wimbledon by players demanding a greater share of tournament revenue along with investment in pensions and player welfare.

At the time, the slams said the exact shape of the council would be decided after discussions with players, but they added that the new body “will examine all sporting matters relating to the Grand Slam tournaments”.

Wertheim posted on Monday that the four majors had used the Laver Cup exhibition team event in London at the last weekend as “an occasion to meet”.

He posted photos of six male and six female players who would form the player panel, a list confirmed to AFP by tennis sources.

In addition Rybakina, Belarusian world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, American No.3 Jessica Pegula, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (7), American Iva Jovic (13) and Greek Maria Sakkari (33) would represent women.

On the men’s side, German Alexander Zverev, ranked No.2, the American Ben Shelton (4), Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (5), Italian Lorenzo Musetti (25) and Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech (33rd) have volunteered to join Djokovic on the new body.

The notable absentees are No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz (3), neither of whom, Wertheim wrote, seemed interested. Coco Gauff is, at No. 4, the highest-ranked woman missing from the list.

Having campaigned for more than a year, some stars cut short their media commitments in the run-up to Roland Garros and Wimbledon to put pressure on the Grand Slam tournament.

The players said they wanted to receive 22% of the major tournament revenue, compared with around 15% at the start of this year. Since the movement began, the four major tournaments have announced substantial increases in their prize money.

In August the four majors said, “The Council will also provide a framework for regular dialogue between players, enabling them to raise and discuss issues relating to their wellbeing and remuneration, particularly prize money.”

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