ARYNA SABALENKA BACKS BOYCOTT AS ROW ERUPTS AFTER PLAYER FURY OVER FRENCH OPEN PRIZE MONEY

A collection of current and former top-10 ATP and WTA tennis stars, including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, have voiced their "deep disappointment" at the French Open's latest prize money announcement. The second Grand Slam of the season kicks off this month in Paris, with organisers having already confirmed a 9.53 per cent rise in this year's total prize pot.

The singles champions will pocket a £2.4million (€2.8million) winners' cheque, up from the £2.2m (€2.55m) that Alcaraz and Coco Gauff received when they lifted the trophies in 2025. However, leading players have highlighted that their share of tournament revenue has actually fallen this year.

Back in March 2025, a group of elite players jointly signed a letter to the heads of all four Grand Slam tournaments, demanding a larger slice of tournament revenue as prize money, greater financial contributions to player welfare programmes, and more influence over decisions that directly affect them.

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On the men's side, the signatories were Sinner, Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur. On the women's side, Sabalenka, Gauff, Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro, Zheng Qinwen, Paula Badosa and Mirra Andreeva all put their names to the letter.

And it is these athletes who have voiced "collective disappointment" regarding the French Open prize money announcement, highlighting the fact that players' portion of tournament revenue will drop from 15.5 per cent in 2024 to a projected 14.9 per cent this year. There has also been "no response" to players' proposals on welfare, which encompasses pension and long-term health schemes, and "no progress" on fair and transparent player reputation within decision-making at the Slams.

A statement issued on behalf of Sinner, Sabalenka and others read: "As Roland Garros looks to post record revenues, players are therefore receiving a declining share of the value they help create.

"More critically, the announcement does nothing to address the structural issues that players have consistently and reasonably raised over the past year. There has been no engagement on player welfare and no progress towards establishing a formal mechanism for player consultation within Grand Slam decision-making.

"While other major international sports are modernising governance, aligning stakeholders, and building long-term value, the Grand Slams remain resistant to change. The absence of player consultation and the continued lack of investment in player welfare reflect a system that does not adequately represent the interests of those who are central to the sport's success."

Last month, the French Open revealed its overall prize fund would rise to £53.25m (€61.7m). However, players pointed out that this still falls short of 15 per cent of the tournament's projected £345m (€400m) revenues for this year. By contrast, joint ATP and WTA 1000 events, such as the forthcoming Italian Open, distribute 22 per cent of revenues as prize money.

2026-05-05T15:58:30Z