Those protesting include world number ones Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner
The qualifying matches for the 2026 Wimbledon Championships are now in full swing. But despite the excitement in the air, player politics has proven to be just as hotly debated a topic in the tennis world this season as the action on the court itself.
A group of 20 top players, amongst them world number ones Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, have taken on the grand slams in a dispute over prize money and a range of other concerns.
Prize money sits firmly at the top of their list of grievances, with the tennis stars arguing that the slams ought to pay out a greater proportion of their revenue, with a target of reaching 22 per cent by 2030. This figure would be broadly in line with the figures on the ATP and WTA Tours.
They are also pushing for contributions from the slams towards welfare programmes, including pensions, as well as a genuine say in decision-making.
The group of players first wrote to the slams last spring and were far from satisfied with the response, or indeed the absence of one. Ahead of the French Open, they released a statement voicing their disappointment at a prize money increase of just 9.5 per cent.
They took their first direct action at Roland Garros, restricting their pre-match media commitments to a mere 15 minutes to reflecting the approximate percentage of revenue paid out by the French Open. Thankfully for the players, the protest swiftly brought French Open organisers to the negotiating table, with a pledge to put forward a concrete proposal. The protest also resulted in talks being held with Wimbledon and US Open officials.
The Wimbledon controversy
Rarely has a prize money announcement attracted such intense scrutiny as when Wimbledon held its spring press conference earlier this month. The grand slams do not agree with the players’ use of revenue as the sole benchmark for prize money, but the 2026 total was confirmed at £64.2million – a substantial 20 per cent rise from 2025, though still falling short of the 16 per cent of revenue demanded by the players for this year.
Speaking about the prize money increase, the All England Club chair Debbie Jevans said: “For 2026 the prize money fund will be £64.2m, that is a 20 per cent increase on last year and £10.7m uplift which allows players to continue to share in our success. Our support for players is distributed throughout the draw. Gentleman and Ladies singles’ champions will each receive £3.6m and first-round prize money is set at £80,000, so players that lose in the first round will share more than £5m in prize money. These figures represent a substantial increase in prize money.”
The players initially responded positively, describing the figure as a “meaningful signal of intent”. Wimbledon believed they had successfully headed off the threat of further action, so it came as quite a surprise to discover that the players are not merely replicating the Roland Garros protest but escalating it, with the 15-minute limit now extended to post-match press conferences during the first week of the tournament.
This is set to impact the tournament’s premium broadcast partners, including the BBC, who may find themselves unable to secure their usual interviews.
Wimbledon had intended to hold talks with players’ representative Larry Scott after the tournament, but this latest development has undoubtedly heightened tensions. Attention will now turn to the US Open, and with prize money having already been increased by 20 per cent the previous year, another substantial rise will be anticipated, particularly given the eye-watering ticket prices.
There has been speculation surrounding a potential boycott of the tournament’s lucrative mixed doubles draw, which was moved forward to the week preceding the main event last year and attracted a glittering array of top names.
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