Tennis stars will hold media protest at French Open over Grand Slam prize money

The group of leading tennis players pushing for increased prize money and other reforms at the Grand Slams will stage a media protest at the French Open.

At the Italian Open earlier this month, stars like Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff suggested that players could boycott one of the four biggest events in tennis. At Roland Garros, where the second Grand Slam of the year starts Sunday, May 24, players will not go to those lengths, but they will walk out of their pre-tournament news conferences after 15 minutes, a source briefed on the group’s plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, said Wednesday.

Players across the draw will also refuse interviews with French Open media and the tournament’s primary rightsholders, TNT Sports and Eurosport. They will only conduct flash interviews with broadcasters after matches in order to avoid being fined, as first reported by The Guardian.

In response to the players’ plans, a French Tennis Federation (FFT) spokesperson said via text message Wednesday that: “We regret the players’ decision, which impacts all of the tournament’s stakeholders: the media, broadcasters, the FFT and the entire tennis community, all of whom follow each edition of Roland-Garros with great enthusiasm.

“The FFT recognises the importance of the players’ contribution to the tournament’s success, and wishes to maintain close ties with them. In early May, it proposed a meeting that will take place on Friday 22 May with some of their representatives.

“The FFT is ready to engage in direct and constructive dialogue on governance issues, with a view to giving players a greater say in decision-making, contributing to players’ welfare and evolutions in the value-sharing model.”

Those talks are planned between the group and the FFT president, Gilles Moretton, as well as French Open tournament director, Amélie Mauresmo. Larry Scott, a former ATP Tour player and ex-WTA chief executive, who is advising the group, is expected to be in Paris for the talks, the source briefed on the group’s plans said.

Meetings with Wimbledon and US Open representatives are expected to take place later in the tournament. Spokespeople for both events did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 15-minute timing represents the fact that the Grand Slams allocate on average 15 percent of revenues to prize money, a source briefed on the group’s plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships said Thursday. The top-10 men’s and women’s players leading this push for reform want that figure to rise to 22 percent, in line with joint ATP and WTA Tour events.

Many U.S. team sports set an even higher mark, with players in the NFL, NBA and MLB receiving close to 50 percent of league revenues, but those finances are subject to collective bargaining agreements which tennis players, who are effectively independent contractors, cannot establish.

The French Open’s 2026 prize pool is up by 9.5 percent from 2025, to a total of $72.3 million. This will come in at 15 percent of its projected revenue, according to the group’s estimates.

The three other majors all increased their prize money at their most recent editions. The Australian Open delivered a 16 percent increase, to $75 million; the U.S. Open’s 21 percent increase brought its prize pool to a record $85 million, and Wimbledon offered $72.6 million in 2025, up seven percent from its 2024 pot, but all of those figures came in at less than 22 percent of each tournament’s respective revenues.

This is the latest attempt by the group to put pressure on the four Grand Slams, following two letters it sent to the majors last year. They were signed by the most prominent players on the WTA and ATP Tours, including Iga Świątek, Carlos Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Gauff and Jannik Sinner.

As well as prize money changes, the group is pushing for more contributions to player welfare and greater consultation and representation about the Grand Slams’ plans, which include seeking the formation of a Grand Slam Player Council.

The French Open qualifying event is already underway, ahead of the main draws starting Sunday. The principal pre-tournament media day will be held Friday, with any outstanding players doing their pre-event press over the weekend.

‘You don’t need a formal boycott for effective, collective action’

Analysis from senior tennis writer Ava Wallace

Take note, Grand Slams. It turns out tennis players can get organized, if they want to — and fast.

While it would be incredibly difficult for the top players to actually boycott a Grand Slam for several reasons, they don’t need a formal boycott for effective collective action.

Make no mistake, walking out on media day press conferences after 15 minutes is meaningful. It’s a smart bit of PR to keep that number — 15 percent of Grand Slam tournament revenue — in people’s minds, and the anecdotes and information players give at these opening-day news conferences trickle down through the media ecosystem at the majors.

Written press uses that information, yes, but so do broadcasters calling the matches, rights holders ginning up content for TV and social media and the tournaments themselves.

As for the length of the press conferences, there are several tight-lipped players reporters could only dream of speaking to for 15 minutes, but there are just as many who can go long. With some big-name players, that cutoff will matter.

That the players who aren’t requested for opening day press conferences will reportedly refuse to conduct “additional interviews” with broadcast rights holders is the main indication of how seriously players are taking this issue. Any protest that hits a tournament’s media deals is an effective one.

While there are many players who would be happy to skip media day altogether, most players also have some understanding that their personal brands are tied not just to their tennis and their wins but to maximizing their visibility during four two-week stretches per year. That there are players who have agreed to be on TV just a little bit less (depending on how players define “additional” interviews, that is) is striking.

At the Italian Open two weeks ago, some players who were asked for their thoughts on a boycott said they hadn’t even heard about such a thing. To go from that, to such a striking and unified piece of collective action in such a short period of time, is significant.

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