Year-Long Dispute Spurs French Open Media Protest
A prolonged disagreement over player compensation and welfare has culminated in a media protest at the French Open, with top tennis players expressing their dissatisfaction with the grand slam tournaments' financial contributions to players.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka emphasized that the campaign is primarily aimed at supporting lower-ranked players rather than personal gain, as the sport’s elite took part in a coordinated reduction of media commitments.
“I feel like the whole point here, it’s not about me,” Sabalenka said. “It’s about the players who are lower in the ranking, who are suffering. It’s not easy to live in this tennis world with that percentage that we are earning.
“As the World No 1, I feel like I have to stand up and to fight for those players, for lower-level players, for players who are coming back after injuries, the upcoming generation. I feel like our point is pretty clear and pretty fair to everyone. That’s what we are all about.”
During media day at the French Open, the top players chose to limit their media appearances to only mandatory interviews, significantly reducing the usual 60 to 90 minutes of engagement to a symbolic 15 minutes. This figure reflects the approximate 15% of tournament revenue allocated to player prize money by the grand slams. The players divided their time between a 10-minute press conference and a 5-minute interview with the host broadcaster, fulfilling their obligatory duties.
A group of leading players has been in ongoing discussions with grand slam organizers for over a year, having sent a signed letter demanding increased prize money shares, enhanced player welfare initiatives such as pensions, and the establishment of a grand slam player council to grant players greater influence over event decisions. The signatories included No 1 players Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, alongside top 10 players Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, and Taylor Fritz.
Andrey Rublev, ranked world No 12 and a member of the ATP player advisory council, highlighted communication issues with the grand slam authorities, stating:
“It’s not only about the money and stuff like that. There are many aspects. They don’t hear you. They don’t answer. Just to give you an example: When you send the mail, no one responds to official mail for months. It’s like, ‘Come on, guys.’ We are together, or you completely don’t care that much that you cannot even communicate.”
The protest was conducted without dramatic walkouts or abrupt endings to press conferences. While some players exceeded the planned 15-minute media time, they adopted varied approaches to the protest. For instance, despite the moderator signaling the end of Daniil Medvedev’s press conference, a persistent Russian-language journalist managed to ask two additional questions, which Medvedev answered, extending his session beyond the protest limit.
In contrast, Coco Gauff took a more structured approach by timing her press conference discreetly. She placed her phone on the table, out of view of the audience, and started a timer before answering questions. Nine minutes into the session, after the moderator inquired about further questions, Gauff noted, “I have about, like, one minute left,” laughing. When asked if she was timing the event, she responded with laughter, “Yes, I’ve got to be strict,” and excused herself at the 10-minute mark.
Similarly, Sabalenka managed the conclusion of her press conference by signaling to her agent, who indicated one final question. She then took on the moderator role herself, ending the interview with:
“And now it’s time for national language, and thank you so much for being here, for asking questions,” she said. “As I said a 1000 times today, I have huge respect [for you], but we know what’s happening here, so thank you so much.”
Notably absent from the protest was Novak Djokovic, who opted not to participate. Djokovic has historically been involved in player power initiatives, including serving as ATP council president and founding the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA). However, he has distanced himself from such efforts in recent years. Despite this, Djokovic, who turned 39 on Friday, expressed solidarity with the players and emphasized the need for unity in tennis, cautioning against the fragmented state seen in golf:
“Let’s try to be a bit more united and have a unifying voice into finding better structure and a better future for our sport, because now is the right time.”
Medvedev described the current level of unity among top players as unprecedented during his career, stating:
“It’s good, because probably the first time, at least in my span on the tour, where players are kind of really united.”
