PARIS.- A group of tennis figures, whose names have not been revealed, who consider the distribution of income in tennis tournaments to be unfair. grand slamwill express their discontent on Friday in Roland Garros during the day dedicated to media obligations.
Some players will limit the time given to the press during the ‘Media Day’ to 15 minutes, symbolizing the 15% that Grand Slam tournaments allocate to the participants’ prizes, according to a source close to the tennis players, who confirmed information from the newspaper L’Équipe.
They will also refuse to grant interviews to the tournament’s main rights holders, such as France Televisions and Eurosportspecified the same source.
This action will take place in a tense context between the four Grand Slam tournaments and the majority of the best players on the circuits. ATP and WTAamong them number 1 Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka.
The fight began in April 2025 when the latter demanded in a letter addressed to the organizers a better redistribution of the income from these tournaments in the form of cash prizes, up to 22% compared to approximately 15% currently, according to their calculations.
Each of the four tournaments then increased their endowment. The Parisian Grand Slam announced in mid-April a new increase (9.5%) in the total prize pool allocated to players, which now reaches 61.7 million euros ($71.66 million).
At the beginning of May, some players expressed their “deep disappointment” at this increase, while estimating the expected revenue this year at Roland Garros at 400 million euros ($464.69 million).
Sabalenka does not rule out a boycott
Asked at a press conference during the Rome tournament about the possibility of a boycott of the Grand Slams by the best players in the world, Sabalenka stated that we would have to “boycott if it is the only solution to defend our rights.”
The French Tennis Federation (FFT), which organizes the Parisian Grand Slam, regretted on Wednesday the “decision of the players”, which “harms all the interested parties of the tournament”.
“The media, the broadcasters, the federation teams and the entire tennis family that enthusiastically follows each edition of Roland Garros,” he said.
The FFT also recalled that, from an increase “of approximately 45%” in the Roland Garros endowment since 2019, it has invested “more than 450 million euros (522 million dollars)” in the tournament’s infrastructure, from which the players benefit during the two weeks in Paris.
A meeting should be held on Friday between the organizers of Roland Garros and “some of the representatives” of the players.
The draw for the men’s and women’s teams will be held on Thursday.
