The world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, abruptly ended her press conference. Iga Swiatek, the Wimbledon winner, asked the audience if they wanted to “waste time on this question.” There was a ticking clock.
Twenty of the biggest players in tennis had the opportunity to voice their demands for an additional £25 million in prize money at the French Open.
Because the £53.3 million prize money at Roland-Garros only accounted for 15% of the event’s total revenue—a 9.5% rise from the previous year—the rebels, which included men’s number one Jannik Sinner and current French Open winner Coco Gauff, would only speak for 15 minutes. In accordance with joint ATP and WTA Tour tournaments, they want it to be 22%, which would raise it to almost £78 million.
When queried about her involvement, Gauff grinned and said, “I won’t be here long.”
Players typically talk for more than an hour before to Grand Slams: a press conference followed by individual interviews with broadcast rights holders, radio and television stations, and social media representatives. Not now. No more than fifteen minutes. Ten minutes for the press conference and five for the host broadcaster alone—not even TNT Sports.
Although there was no official stopwatch, Sabalenka determined that she needed to answer certain questions in her own tongue before the time ran out because she had already replied enough in English.
She said, “And now it’s time for national language.” “I really appreciate you being here.”
Although there was no official stopwatch, Sabalenka felt that she needed to answer certain questions in her own tongue before the time ran out because she had replied enough in English.
During her news conference, Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek asked the audience if they wanted to “waste time on this question.”
Sabalenka and the rest of the protesting pack argued that this was done to help money trickle down the ranks to those who struggle to make a living, not out of desire or to further feather their own opulent nests.
Players outside of the top 75 find it difficult to turn a profit, according to Brit Fran Jones.
Sabalenka said, “It’s not about me, it’s about the players lower in the ranking who are suffering.” “Living in this tennis world with that percentage we are earning is not easy.” As the top player in the world, it is my responsibility to defend those players.
This demonstration is the most recent attempt to put pressure on the Grand Slams after the rebellious players signed two letters last year.
“We waited a year for a small response, as I mentioned in Rome already,” Sinner remarked. It’s not pleasant. It need every player, and since players are closely related to one another, we are all very much together. Events cannot be played without us. After this, we’ll watch how other Grand Slams respond, and then we’ll decide what comes next.
According to All England Club, they have already communicated with players and their representatives; former British number one Tim Henman is said to have been one of them. They want to continue their discussions at the French Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, whose media appearances lasted well over a quarter of an hour, supported the players’ goals “for players across all rankings” and urged everyone to consider golf and their acrimonious PGA and LIV split as examples of what happens when a sport breaks apart.
“Let’s take a lesson from that,” Djokovic remarked. “Let’s try to be a little more unified and have a unifying voice in order to find better structure and a better future for our sport.”
The French Tennis Federation is scheduled to meet with players’ representatives on Friday night. Sources are eager to point out that the competition’s prize money has doubled over the past ten years.
What would happen if nothing changed between now and Wimbledon? During the Italian Open in Rome, Sabalenka and Gauff both said that if their demands were not satisfied, players would possibly skip Slams.
Wimbledon will reveal this year’s prize money next month and offered £53.5 million in 2025, a seven percent increase over 2024.
“I’m not sure if I want to start using the “B” word,” stated American world number eight Taylor Fritz. “I don’t think we as players should really, I don’t know, make big threats like that unless we’re fully ready to do it because it’s a really big deal.”
During the Italian Open in Rome, Sabalenka and Gauff (above) said that players would potentially skip Slams if their requests were not fulfilled.
I believe it’s a conversation we should have and that we should consider the possible consequences of doing so. However, if we are ignored, there comes a time when something has to change, so that’s a discussion to have.
Swiatek continued, “I don’t think doing something that is not constructive will make sense, but we want to push a bit more to get what we need and to get the tournaments being more open for the conversations we need to have.”
“I believe that when the tournament does more for us, we will do more.” Not just for us, the elite players, but also for the players in lower positions and the entire organization. Last year, Swiatek received £7.5 million in prize money.
It didn’t sit well with everyone that it was all about the small men. Jones, who is currently rated 105th in the world, stated, “I don’t think the top ranked players think about the lower-ranked players as much.”
When questioned about the protests, she picked up her phone and said, “Are my fifteen minutes up yet?” “Players on tour don’t have enough money.” I have no say in the source of such funding. Unless you’re in the top 75, you don’t break even, and even then it’s close. The top 100 players in golf are breaking even. The Premier League’s top 100 players are performing far better than breaking even.
