Grand Slam fines: Where does the money go?
It is often a hot topic in the tennis media: player breaks racket, dishes out an obscenity, fails to give best efforts or commits any other of a multitude of offences that contravene the Grand Slam Code of Conduct, and they’re liable to a fine.
Sport, like society, is governed by a set of rules that aim to maintain fair and reasonable standards. For the four biggest events in tennis, those rules are defined by the Grand Slam Rule Book. You can delve into the detail of the rule book and the Grand Slam Code of Conduct, if you’re so inclined, here.
But if you’re looking for a simple summary, here’s a run-down of why players might be fined at the Grand Slams, how much, and where that money goes.
What type of offences merit a fine?
The aforementioned racket abuse, audible or visual obscenities, and best efforts – by which a player is deemed not to be performing to the best of their ability – are fairly common reasons for fines at the majors, but there are a host of other violations of the code that can draw a financial penalty.
Punctuality, leaving the court without permission, failing to complete a match without good reason, audible or visual abuse, unsportsmanlike conduct and ensuring availability for post-match media obligations are all covered under the code.
While the above are relatively minor misdemeanours, there are the more serious offences, or ‘Major Offences’, such as aggravated behaviour – either a single incident or a series of minor offences which have formed a pattern of conduct deemed detrimental to the integrity of the game - which merit a sterner penalty from the Grand Slam Board.
The Grand Slam board you say? Don't the ITF run the Grand Slams?
No, and that's a common misconception. The ITF is a member of the Grand Slam board alongside Tennis Australia (TA), the Federation Française de Tennis (FFT), the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) who own and organise the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, respectively. The ITF provides governance and administrative support, as well as operates the Grand Slam Player Development Programme (GSPDP) on behalf of the Grand Slam Board outside of competition, and Officiating, data and information services as well as administrates the Media Commission in the organisation of and on-site during Grand Slam competition.
Fines, essentially, are governed by specific regulations relevant to each event or Tour in the landscape of tennis. The ATP and WTA hold responsibility for administering fines to players competing in their events based on any violations of regulations in their rulebooks, and the ITF is responsible for any fines relevant to events it runs: such as the ITF World Tennis Tour, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. The Grand Slam board is responsible for enforcing its own code of conduct at the Grand Slams.
Right, so how much can a player be fined by the Grand Slam Board?
Fines are issued relative to a player’s ranking status, and therefore earning potential, and can range from $1000 (for players ranked outside the Top 150) to up to $20,000 for those players inside the world’s Top 10, depending on the significance of the offence.
The best player in the world might lob their racket over a fence, for instance, but not be required to write a cheque for the maximum penalty of $20,000 (although they would be fined more than a player ranked 200 in the world performing an identical act). That decision, ultimately, lies with the Director of the Grand Slam Board following its investigation into the severity of the incident.
Major offences, however, could see a player fined as much as $250,000, or the amount of prize money they won at the tournament.
Where does the money go?
Understandably, no player is particularly keen to surrender a portion of their hard-earned prize money, but it’s not all bad news... all fines levied by the Grand Slam Board are paid within 10 days, and that money subsequently goes back into the development of tennis through the Grand Slam Player Development Programme.
That must be quite a pot of cash. How is it spent?
The Grand Slam Player Development Programme has contributed over $55million to tennis development since its inception in 1986. Player fines generate approximately $200,000 annually towards that sum. The Programme has helped to provide competitive opportunities in developing tennis regions throughout the globe, and has also helped talented individuals to succeed where finances may have otherwise proved a barrier to their success.
How does the Grand Slam Player Development Programme identify players to support?
The Grand Slam Player Development Programme Committee considers a number of factors – particularly age, ranking and regional representation criteria – but what all recipients have in common is their ‘exceptional potential’.
The GSPDP introduced a Grand Slam Player Grant Scheme in 2017, which provides total annual funding of $650,000 to selected players across the globe through grants of either $25,000 or $12,500 per player. Ons Jabeur, Elena Rybakina, Cristian Garin and Hubert Hurkacz are just a few of the recent success stories, having been supported with individual grants to help them develop as tennis players and compete in Grand Slam tournaments.
Discover more about how recent Player Grant Recipients have benefited from the support by clicking here: Francisco Cerundolo, Anhelina Kalinina, Kamil Majchrzak, Mayar Sherif, Maria Camila Osorio Serrano
Have any really well-known players been supported by this programme?
Grand Slam champions Gustavo Kuerten, Li Na, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep are among the leading names to have been supported by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme.
Not only that, the programme has played its part in some milestone achievements for players hailing from nations hardly renowned for tennis. Mayar Sherif, the first Egyptian woman to compete in the main draw at a Grand Slam in the Open Era at 2020 Roland Garros; Hyeon Chung, the first Korean player to reach a Grand Slam singles semi-final at the 2018 Australian Open and Ons Jabeur; the first Arab woman to make the last eight at a Grand Slam at the 2020 Australian Open, have all received Grand Slam Player Grants since 2017.
If fines have contributed to the funding of players like this, shouldn’t we be encouraging bad behaviour then?
An interesting question, to which the answer is: no.