Djokovic, Gauff And Other Players Ask The Grand Slam Tournaments For More Money And More Say

Novak Djokovic , Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are among 20 leading tennis players who signed a letter sent to the heads of the four Grand Slam tournaments seeking more prize money and a greater say in what they called "decisions that directly impact us."

The letter, a copy of which was obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, is dated March 21 and begins with a request for an in-person meeting at this month's Madrid Open between representatives of the players and the four people to whom it was addressed: Craig Tiley of the Australian Open, Stephane Morel of the French Open, Sally Bolton of Wimbledon and Lew Sherr of the U.S. Open.

At the bottom of the message are the handwritten signatures of 10 of the top 11 women in the rankings from the week of March 3 - Elena Rybakina's name is missing - and the full list of the top 10 men that week.

The women are the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka, Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro, Zheng Qinwen, Paula Badosa and Mirra Andreeva. The men are the No. 1-ranked Sinner - who is currently serving a three-month doping ban - 24-time major champion Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur.

Of the 20, 15 have won at least one Grand Slam title or reached a major final.