The world's top tennis players are preparing to stage a protest over prize money by curtailing their media obligations at the French Open, escalating their ongoing dispute with the four grand slam tournaments.
Work-to-Rule Strategy
Players selected for Friday's opening press conference at Roland Garros will walk out after 15 minutes, a move intended to highlight that the slams allocate an average of just 15% of their revenues to prize money. Additionally, the rest of the draw will refuse to conduct extra interviews with the tournament's main media rights partners, TNT Sports and Eurosport.
A source close to the players revealed that after the French Open confirmed this year's prize pot of €61.7 million (£52.6 million), discussions in the locker room led to what they describe as a "work to rule strategy" in Paris, with off-court activities kept to a bare minimum. The players have studied the tournament rulebook and believe they will not face fines as long as they fulfill contractual obligations, such as brief flash interviews with rights holders after matches.
Long-Standing Dispute
The leading 20 male and female players, including Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff, have been in conflict with all four grand slams for over a year. They argue that they receive an insufficient share of the tournaments' growing revenues and have also demanded better welfare and pension provisions, as well as a greater say in scheduling.
Following the French Open's prize money announcement, Sabalenka and Gauff raised the possibility of boycotting grand slams during interviews at the Italian Open in Rome, though Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu distanced themselves from strike talk.
Revenue Disparity
The French Open prize fund has risen by 9.5% this year, with the men's and women's singles champions each receiving €2.8 million (£2.4 million). However, the players are unhappy that the increase is far more modest as a percentage of tournament revenues. While Roland Garros's income climbed by 14% to €395 million last year, prize money rose by only 5.4%, reducing the players' share of revenue to 14.3%.
Since the dispute became public last year, the players have been calling on the slams to match the 22% revenue share paid by the ATP and WTA tours.
Talks and Next Steps
The players are being advised by former ATP player and ex-WTA chief executive Larry Scott, who is scheduled to meet on Friday with French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton and Roland Garros tournament director Amélie Mauresmo. Further meetings with representatives of Wimbledon and the US Open are expected later in the tournament.
Wimbledon will soon become a focus, with the All England Club due to announce its prize money in the second week of June. Although the prize fund will increase from last year's £53.5 million, the announcement is unlikely to satisfy the players, who feel excluded from the significant revenue growth at SW19. The All England Club's income from Wimbledon has risen from about £165 million in 2015 to over £420 million last year, while prize money has only doubled from £26.5 million to £53.5 million over the same period—a 20% drop in the players' share of tournament revenues.
The players are particularly agitated about Wimbledon, as the All England Club plans to increase capacity by an extra 10,000 spectators daily if its proposed expansion proceeds. Protests could occur during this summer's Championships.
