Top tennis players will continue their campaign for a larger share of Grand Slam revenues by limiting their media appearances during the opening week of Wimbledon.
Key Points
- Players will cap media obligations at 15 minutes after matches during the first week of Wimbledon as part of an ongoing prize money protest.
- The protest follows the French Open, where leading stars argued that Grand Slam players receive too small a percentage of tournament revenue.
- Wimbledon increased total prize money by 20%, including a $4.75 million payout for each singles champion, but players say revenue sharing remains below previous levels.
- Top stars including Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner joined the French Open protest, while Novak Djokovic opted not to participate.
Players extend campaign over revenue share
Under the coordinated action, players will fulfill only 15 minutes of mandatory post-match media duties after each match. The move follows a similar protest at the French Open, where players argued that prize money accounted for just 14.3% of the tournament's overall revenue.
A statement issued by an advisory firm representing the players said the symbolic 15-minute limit reflects Wimbledon currently allocating just under 15% of its projected revenues to prize money.
Prize money rises but concerns remain
Wimbledon recently announced a 20% increase in total prize money, with this year's men's and women's singles champions each set to receive $4.75 million.
Despite welcoming the increase, player representatives said the estimated 14.4% share of tournament revenue remains below the 14.9% distributed to players a decade ago. The group has previously proposed increasing the allocation to 16% of Wimbledon revenues.
The statement also confirmed that Wimbledon officials had been informed of the planned protest following discussions with players across both the ATP and WTA Tours.
Leading stars back the movement
The advisory group did not reveal which players will participate at Wimbledon, but several of the sport's biggest names joined the French Open protest earlier this season.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and men's World No. 1 Jannik Sinner all shortened their media sessions in Paris, while Novak Djokovic chose not to take part.
Ahead of the Championships, All England Club chair Deborah Jevans expressed hope that the substantial prize money increase would address players' concerns, highlighting that the additional funding benefited competitors across every round, including qualifying.
