The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship upped the stakes, raising its total prize money to $13 million to become the highest-paying LPGA major ahead of this week’s tournament.
Marking its ninth consecutive increase, the PGA Championship reclaimed the payout crown by narrowly eclipsing the 2026 US Open’s $12.5 million.
“Working with the PGA of America and the LPGA Tour, we’re combining a record purse with technology that gives players better, real-time insight into their performance, along with broader, more dynamic coverage for fans,” said KPMG US Chair Tim Walsh in a tournament statement.
Competition tees off tomorrow, as world No. 1 Nelly Korda strives to become just the third women’s golfer to start the season with three straight major wins.
Almost all of the LPGA Points List’s Top 100 will battle for the 2026 prize money at Hazeltine National this week, including reigning champion Minjee Lee.
Wimbledon is upping the ante, as the London Grand Slam announced its raising this year’s overall prize money to £64.2 million — a £10.7 million leap from 2025.
The 20% increase marks the largest in tournament history. ATP and WTA champions will take home £3.6 million each, while first-round losers walk with £80,000.
“What has been decided this year is the biggest uplift ever in quantum terms,” said All England Club chair Debbie Jevans. “We’re proud to be able to do that through how we run the championships in such a sustainable way.”
The news comes after top stars publicly protested French Open revenue sharing. However, Wimbledon’s payout still falls below the 16% players are targeting.
“We’ve always been clear that we’re on the side of the players,” added Jevans, stressing All England Club’s nonprofit status. “Revenue does not take into account the contributions that we give.”
The grass-court Slam’s new total amounts to 15.1% of last year’s recorded revenue. That’s a tick up from 2025’s 13% split.
Wimbledon 2026 Broadcast Info & London Grand Slam Dates
Wimbledon kicks off on June 29th, live on ESPN.
The world's top tennis stars are scaling back their Roland Garros press appearances at the 2026 French Open to protest tournament revenue distribution.
Instead of initiating a full boycott at Roland Garros, players on the men's and women's sides plan to restrict their media availability starting with Friday's pre-tournament press conferences.
Leading athletes — including world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and top-ranked US star Coco Gauff — previously raised the prospect of a Grand Slam boycott while competing at the 2026 Italian Open. Locker room discussions have now shifted toward a strategic "work-to-rule" media protest instead.
Participants plan to limit their pre-tournament press interactions to exactly 15 minutes, a timeframe symbolizing the estimated 15% of total tournament revenue that Grand Slams allocate to the prize money pool.
Furthermore, players plan to bypass extra interviews with primary tournament broadcasters at Roland Garros, fulfilling only mandatory on-court flash interviews to avoid financial penalties.
How Prize Money Concerns Sparked a French Open Media Boycott
The underlying conflict of this latest French Open protest centers on shifting revenue percentages.
Organizers boosted the total 2026 Roland Garros prize pot by 9.5% to €61.7 million. However, players point out that overall tournament revenues rose at a much faster rate.
While French Open revenue grew by 14% to €395 million last year, prize money only increased by 5.4% — and the players' share actually dropped to 14.3%.
Now, a player coalition is demanding a 22% share to match the standards of combined ATP and WTA 1000 events. They're also fighting for long-term health benefits and pensions.
Stars like Coco Gauff have explained the bigger prize purse is meant to benefit everyone, especially lower-seeded athletes who are required to pay for travel expenses and the teams' salaries.
"When you look at the [players ranked] 50 to 100, 50 to 200, how much money each Slam makes, it's kind of unfortunate," Gauff said. "[Many of] the 200 best tennis players are living paycheck to paycheck."
The French Tennis Federation expressed regret over the protest, but scheduled talks with player representatives to address the ongoing dispute as the Roland Garros tournament forges on.
The AIG Women's British Open boosted its 2026 prize pool to $10 million, marking the tour stop's sixth consecutive purse increase as LPGA majors continue closing the pay gap.
The R&A and sponsor AIG announced the $250,000 upgrade days after US star Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship. That LPGA major raised its total payout to $9 million just two days before the first round, with Korda claiming the $1.35 million winner's share after going wire-to-wire.
Now three LPGA majors subsequently offer eight-figure prize pools, with the US Open and KPMG PGA Championship leading at $12 million each.
"These consistent and sustainable investments in the prize fund clearly demonstrate The R&A and AIG's commitment to elevating the championship on the global stage," R&A CEO Mark Darbon said in a statement.
The 2019 partnership between The R&A and AIG has more than tripled the British Open's purse. When Georgia Hall won the tournament's last visit to Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2018, the prize pool stood at $3.25 million.
The LPGA schedule is also expanding its broadcast footprint. This year's British Open will see 34 hours of live coverage — the most of any women's major. Weekend rounds will air live across Golf Channel, USA Network, and NBC in the US.
Nelly Korda is expected to enter the late-July competition after making the final group in all five of her 2026 starts so far.
The French Open is boosting prize money by 9.5% ahead of the 2026 tournament, with the total pool now reaching €61.7 million ($72 million USD) — up €5.3 million from last year.
Both men's and women's singles champions will take home €2.8 million, a 9.8% increase over 2025. Roland Garros provides equal pay across all competitions, with runners-up earning €1.4 million while semifinalists walk with €750,000 each.
The largest increases target early-round exits, as qualifying round ousters see nearly 13% more French Open prize money while first-rounders see a 11.5% increase.
The percentage nearly doubles last year's tournament. However, it falls short of other Grand Slams, after the US Open boosted prize money by 20% last year while the Australian Open increased its pool by nearly 16%.
World No. 5 Jessica Pegula has led the player-run campaign for improved Grand Slam paydays.
"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," Pegula told BBC Sport.
Coco Gauff won the 2025 French Open, earning €2.55 million after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The defending champion begins her title defense when the tournament kicks off on May 24th.
In other news, Roland Garros has moved to allow approved fitness trackers for the first time. Now players can wear devices that monitor sleep, strain, stress, and heart rate.
Line judges will also remain at the French Open for another year, despite the Tour's other three Grand Slams introducing electronic line calling. In his decision, French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton cited a 10% margin of error in the technology.
Elena Rybakina has won a second career Grand Slam, as the Kazakhstani tennis star took down world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to earn her first Melbourne title at the 2026 Australian Open on Saturday.
The tight battle saw Sabalenka respond to her first-set loss by securing the second set before mounting a 3-0 third set — until Rybakina went on a five-game winning streak to regain control of the match.
"The heart rate was definitely beating too fast," the 26-year-old said following her win. "Even maybe [my] face didn't show, but inside it was a lot of emotions."
Along with her $2.79 million winner's check, Rybakina also exits the season's first Slam with a promotion in the WTA standings, with the previous No. 5 securing the world No. 3 spot on Monday.
Her latest Grand Slam trophy now joins the Wimbledon hardware Rybakina won in 2022, while Saturday's title match leaves Sabalenka with a 4-4 all-time record in major tournament finals — including back-to-back Australian Open losses.
"I played great until [a] certain point, and then I couldn't resist that aggression that she had on court today," Sabalenka said after the defeat.
"Today I'm a loser, maybe tomorrow I'm a winner," the 27-year-old continued. "Hopefully I'll be more of a winner this season than a loser."
How to watch Rybakina & Sabalenka on the next 2026 WTA Tour stop
Tennis's top stars will return to action at next week's Qatar Open, with US standout No. 4 Amanda Anisimova defending her title when the WTA 1000 tournament hits the hardcourt on Sunday.
The 2026 Qatar Open will air live on the Tennis Channel.
The Australian Open is raising the bar for 2026, with the first Grand Slam of the tennis season boosting its total prize pool to a record $74.9 million — a 16% increase over the 2025 tournament.
Top-finishers in both the women's and men's competitions will now receive checks worth $2.79 million — 19% more than 2025's champions — while a player exiting in the main draw's first round will earn approximately $101,000, a 14% year-over-year increase.
The annual competition has long been a pioneer in promoting equal pay, following the US Open's 1973 move by becoming the second Slam to guarantee a 50-50 breakdown between the WTA and ATP in 2001.
"This 16% increase demonstrates our commitment to supporting tennis careers at every level," said Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley in the governing body's Tuesday announcement. "From boosting qualifying prize money by 55% since 2023 to enhancing player benefits, we're ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors."
"This investment strengthens tennis's foundation, ensuring the sport's long-term health and commercial growth," added Tiley. "By supporting players at all levels, we're building deeper talent pools and more compelling storylines for fans."
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open
US star and world No. 7 Madison Keys will look to defend her trophy when the main draw of the 2026 Australian Open kicks off at 7 PM ET on Saturday, January 17th.
Live coverage of the season's first Slam will air across ESPN platforms.
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has done it again, with the world No. 1 taking home the WTA Player of the Year award for a second straight season on Monday — becoming just the seventh woman to earn the honor back-to-back.
Sabalenka won Player of the Year in dominant fashion, garnering nearly 80% of the media vote after leading the 2025 WTA Tour in wins, titles, and finals appearances — all while racking up a record $15 million in prize money.
The 27-year-old spent the entire year as the sport's No. 1 player, all while reaching three of the four Grand Slam finals en route to winning the 2025 US Open.
After an elite season, US rising star Amanda Anisimova won the WTA Most Improved Player honor for reaching a career-first two Grand Slam finals while jumping from No. 34 to No. 4 in the rankings.
Following her own breakout 2025 campaign, 19-year-old Canadian talent No. 18 Vicky Mboko took home Newcomer of the Year, with Swiss No. 11 Belinda Bencic earning Comeback Player of the Year after returning from pregnancy in stellar form.
The world's top duo of Czechia's Katerina Siniakova and US standout Taylor Townsend also capped their 2025 season with hardware, earning the sport's Doubles Team of the Year.
Just before the final event of the 2025 Tour, the LPGA raised the stakes for pro women's golf, announcing this week that the governing body is expanding both player paydays and live broadcast coverage for the 2026 season.
For the first time in the sport's history, the LPGA's upcoming 76th Tour will see every round of every tournament broadcast live in the US.
The Tour will also add 50% more camera equipment — including slow-motion and drone cameras — than used in this year's tournaments, with most 2026 LPGA action airing live on the Golf Channel or CNBC.
"For us to finally get our shot at having live TV and for people investing in our product out here has been amazing," US star and world No. 2 Nelly Korda said on Wednesday. "I can't wait to see where it's going to go."
Even more, next season's total prize money will reach $132 million across the Tour's 33 tournaments, a record-high sum after five major events raised their purses by a cumulative $3 million.
There will also be more financial commitment across the board, with 12 events on the 2026 LPGA Tour featuring elevated purses and more than 15 guaranteeing a minimum payout for all players — even those who miss the cut.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we've built, and even more excited about where we're headed," said LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler. "Coming off our 75th anniversary season, we wanted a calendar that gives our athletes great stages, better flow, and even more opportunity — and I think 2026 delivers that."
LPGA season wraps with this week's 2025 CME Group Tour Championship
Though the LPGA is already planning for its 2026 campaign, the final event of the 2025 Tour kicked off on Thursday, as this year's top 60 points-getters teed off in the CME Group Tour Championship.
Featuring 28 of the 29 event champions this year as well as every world Top 25 player, the 2025 Tour's grand finale will see the sport's best battling for the lion's share of the $11 million purse in Naples, Florida.
Leading the field is the aforementioned US standout Korda as well as 2024 CME Group Tour champion and world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and New Zealand's two-time winner No. 5 Lydia Ko.
An impressive eight LPGA rookies also made the cut to enter the elite end-of-season tournament, including Japan's No. 3 Miyu Yamashita and England's No. 10 Lottie Woad.
How to watch the 2025 CME Group Tour Championship
The 2025 LPGA Tour will finish with Sunday's final round at the CME Group Tour Championship.
While ESPN+ will stream featured groups throughout the four-day tournament, the first three rounds will air live on the Golf Channel before Sunday's finale shifts to NBC and Peacock.
Sportico released its 2025 tennis prize money tracker late last week, and three of the annual cross-tour rankings' Top-5 earners hail from the WTA.
With $8.21 million in total 2025 earnings so far, newly minted Wimbledon winner Iga Świątek came in third behind ATP Tour giants Carlos Alcaraz ($10.63 million) and Jannik Sinner ($9.04 million).
Just behind Świątek sit reigning US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka ($7.13 million) and 2025 French Open winner Coco Gauff ($5.95 million) in fourth- and fifth-place, respectively.
Even more, a total of six women's tour standouts occupy slots in the Top 10, with Mirra Andreeva ($4.15 million), Madison Keys ($3.96 million), and Jasmine Paolini ($3.79 million) joining the previously trio in that upper echelon.
The gender parity on the list is a direct result of the fact that all four of the sport's Grand Slams boast equal prize money between the men's and women's competitions — a shift that began with the 1973 US Open and saw full adoption across the quartet of tennis majors with the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.
Now approaching two decades of Grand Slam equal pay, pro tennis players enjoy one of the highest in-competition earning potentials across all women's sports.
This year's tennis prize money rankings are far from locked in, however, as the 2025 US Open steps into its second round on Wednesday — with a record-setting $90 million total purse on the line to boost players' spots on the list.
Should world No. 1 Sabalenka defend her title — or if No. 2 Świątek or No. 3 Gauff emerges victorious in the season's final Grand Slam — a WTA player could launch herself to the top of the 2025 earnings list.