Leading tennis players are set to expand their protest over Wimbledon prize money, despite a 20% increase in this year’s tournament purse.
Some players limited their pre-tournament media commitments to 15 minutes at the French Open, but are expected to take further action at Wimbledon. In addition to restricting media availability during the pre-event weekend, players plan to limit post-match press conferences to 15 minutes throughout the first week of the championships, which begin on Monday.
The 15-minute cap is intended to symbolise the roughly 15% of tournament revenue that players say is allocated to Wimbledon prize money and other Grand Slam prize funds.
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The move is reportedly backed by most of the world’s top 20 players.
At Roland Garros, world number one Aryna Sabalenka shortened her pre-tournament press conference, while players including Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek also followed the “work to rule” approach.
However, Novak Djokovic, who has frequently spoken on player welfare and rights, did not participate in the action.
Earlier this month, players welcomed a 20% increase in Wimbledon prize money, describing it as a “genuine and significant step forward”.
The total prize fund for this year’s championships stands at £64.2 million, the largest annual increase in the tournament’s history.
Singles champions will each receive £3.6 million, while first-round losers will earn £80,000.
Despite the increase, players said the new package still falls short of their demand for 16% of tournament revenue to be allocated to prize money.
In addition to seeking a stronger link between revenue and player earnings, players are also calling for contributions to their benefit pool and a greater role in decisions affecting the sport.
The total prize fund remains about £7 million below what players had hoped to secure.
“We don’t look at percentages, we don’t actually believe that is the right metric,” said Deborah Jevans.
“It is one metric that is based purely on revenue and doesn’t take into account any costs and we cannot run a business in that way.
“We have expenses – we have spoken about infrastructure and investment in grass court tennis.
“You cannot run a sustainable business, and we have nearly been around for 150 years, just by looking at revenue. That is just plainly wrong.”
