Tennis players want more money and make media scapegoats for it

For the second Grand Slam tournament in a row, the tennis players decided that the easiest point of pressure is not the organizers, nor the sponsors, but the media. After threatening to boycott the French Open over prize money, several of the world’s top tennis players are now poised to continue their protest at Wimbledon by limiting post-match communications with the media to just 15 minutes during the tournament’s opening week.

The top players, who are not satisfied with the portions of the prize money paid to them by the organizers, say that the move is symbolic.

Wimbledon currently returns about 14.4 percent of its revenue to players as rewards, according to a statement Wednesday from the consulting firm that represents them. By limiting press duties to 15 minutes, the players say it mirrors what they see as an unfair financial distribution.

The move comes despite Wimbledon announcing a 20 percent increase in prize money this year, with the men’s and women’s singles champions set to receive £3.6 million (approximately Rs 45 crore) each.

THE PLAYERS PROTESTED AT THE FRENCH OPEN AS WELL

The current push began at the French Open earlier this year, when several top names publicly questioned how little of the Grand Slam’s revenue ultimately goes to the players. Players suggested taking 16 percent of the revenue, while some, including world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenkova, argued for an eventual increase closer to 22 percent.

Sabalenka even warned that a boycott may become inevitable if negotiations do not move.

“I think at some point we will boycott it,” she said ahead of Roland Garros.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff also backed collective action, arguing that the current financial structure leaves too many players outside the elite group struggling despite tennis generating huge revenues.

Several of the sport’s biggest names took part in the protest at the French Open. Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and men’s world number one Jannik Sinner have cut media commitments, although Novak Djokovic opted not to join.

An interesting part of the latest escalation is that access to the media has become a bargaining chip.

Players do not refuse matches, skip training or boycott sponsors. Instead, they limit one of the few windows through which fans, broadcasters and journalists interact with the sport off the court.

Whether this creates enough pressure to force greater redistribution of income remains to be seen.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

25 Jun 2026 14:58 IST