“I want to leave the sport better than I found it" - Coco Gauff shares her quest for more prize money from Grand Slams

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff was among a group of top 10 players who co-signed a letter to all four Grand Slams asking for more prize money, and the reigning French Open champion opened up on her decision to join this movement.

This is not the first time the players have banded together on this issue, as an initial letter was signed and sent to the majors in March. Following the US Open, the players renewed their call for more prize money, alongside other contributions to player benefits.

In a report by The Athletic, Gauff and the rest of the group asked for the Grand Slam tournaments to contribute to welfare and benefit funds for pensions, healthcare and maternity. Additionally, they asked for better player representation with the formation of a Grand Slam Player Council; and for an increase in prize money proportionate to revenue.

Currently competing at the China Open, Gauff elaborated on why she felt obligated to sign both letters. The defending champion stated she would like to see the Grand Slams invest more in player concerns, and not just tournaments.

"I think for me personally, I think for the long run of our sport, the whole ecosystem, I think it's really important,” said Gauff. “As we know in this sport, the Grand Slams are generating the most revenue, at least the stats and the percentages they gave me, when you look at the percentage of that revenue going to prize money, it is not the same as the WTA and ATP, even though they're generating less revenue than the Slams."

"I think it's important for the whole ecosystem of the sport. Sometimes people are focused on just the prize money. We're not talking about just raising the prize money for the champion, but trickling all the way down to qualies.
We kind of want them to invest more in the tour as a whole, not only when it comes to prize money, but the well-being of players and just trickling that down, all the way down to the lower-ranked players as well. Our 200th best player, 300th best player are struggling to make ends meet. In other leagues, it's not that common, especially with the revenue that tennis is generating."

The Atlanta native is aware of the timeframe such a mission could take, but hopes to at least begin the process so it can be of benefit to those who come after her.

"I think for me it was important for the long run of the sport, I don't know if it will happen in my career lifetime in this sport, where it reaches that," admitted Gauff. “I want to leave the sport better than I found it. Obviously, all the top-10 players agree. I think this is the first time on the tour we've gotten both the top 10 on men and women to sign something and agree to something.
"I think it's a big step. Yeah, I know they're having conversations. Hopefully we can reach a solution in the near future."