"Today, we are stuck until the day the players say stop": Stan Wawrinka blasts Grand Slams and governing bodies in tennis for making decisions without player intervention

Former World No.3 Stan Wawrinka has hit out at Grand Slams and tournament organizers for making important decisions without consulting the players, slamming them for only thinking about themselves.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has always been vocal when it comes to issues regarding tennis, with his most recent rants directed at the ITF for changing the Davis Cup format. The Swiss player accused the governing body of “paying people to support and make some noise for every country at every match”.

"They do not redistribute enough to tennis compared to the income they generate. And they have way too much power because they make [so much] money,” said Wawrinka in an interview with L'Equipe. "[The Slams are] where the history of tennis is written. These are the richest Federations which do not redistribute much. Even between them, there is no communication. The income from Grand Slams today is very important and the percentage returned to players is ridiculous. It has hardly increased at all.”

The 38-year old argued that although players received the most money at Grand Slams, these tournaments were holding onto the vast majority of the money they made.

"Today, we are stuck until the day the players say stop,” he added. "Tennis Australia showed up to say, ‘We’re starting on the first Sunday’, like that, thank you goodbye. Did anyone ask us what we thought about it? No. It’s like that. From the outside, you tell yourself that this is not normal. That means we don’t work together.”