One of the fundamental rules of professional tennis is that for someone to get paid, the player must actually play the match. But the four Grand Slam tournaments are making a rules change to ensure the integrity of the competition in the first rounds of their events.
The four-member Grand Slam Board, stung by the high number of first-round retirements because of injuries in recent years, announced on Tuesday that injured players who withdraw in the days before a Grand Slam tournament begins will receive 50 percent of the prize money normally given to first-round losers.