French Open stars make their feelings clear on protest over prize money
French Open stars make their feelings clear on protest over prize money
Yasmin Syed in Paris Sun, May 24, 2026 at 11:03 AM UTC
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Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff was one of several players who limited their media commitments at the French Open (Image: Getty Images)
Media day at the French Open has taken on a different tone this year, with several top players - including Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff - participating in a protest.
The players have been urging leaders of the four Grand Slam tournaments to grant them a larger share of revenue as prize money, contributions to player welfare programs, including pensions, and greater influence in decision-making.
However, they feel these demands have largely been dismissed, prompting some to take action by restricting their pre-tournament media obligations to just 15 minutes at the French Open.
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The 15-minute figure is intended to reflect the fact that prize money is expected to account for around 15 percent of tournament revenue at this year's French Open, falling well short of the 22 percent players receive at ATP and WTA events, and what they are seeking from the Slams.
This year's total French Open prize pool stands at £53,315,401 (around $71 million), meaning the players are essentially calling for an additional £24,880,521 (around $32 million). Yet as many noted, the media day protest was not simply about demanding more money. Express U.S. Sports breaks down what players had to say about the 15-minute protest - whether or not they chose to participate.
Jannik Sinner explained that the protest was also about "respect" (Image: Getty Images)Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka was the first to propose taking action earlier this month in Rome, when she suggested that players could boycott the Slams to "fight for their rights."
On Friday, Sabalenka said she "stands with [her] words" but added: "We wanted to do it in a respectful way at the beginning, and you guys know how much we respect you and we appreciate you. It's not your decision, it's not about you. It's just we are trying to fight for a fair percentage."
Novak Djokovic
The 24-time Grand Slam champion did not participate in the 15-minute media protest, but expressed his support for players' rights - a cause he has championed throughout his career.
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"What I can do is reiterate my own position that I have said many times before, that as a player, which has been my primary role in this sport for so many years, I have always been on the players' side and tried to advocate for players' rights and better future for players," he said.
"But not only top players, players across all rankings, across all fields, particularly the Tier 1 professional tennis, you know, the players on both men's and women's side that are lower-ranked, that are often forgotten about. We tend to - when I say 'we', I mean including media and all of the intra-sides of the tennis world at the highest level - talk about the prize money cuts and how much are the top players earning or not earning, but we tend to forget how little is the number of people that live from this sport. So I will never stop mentioning that or talking about that, because it is 'the' most important field of the tennis professional circuit, that foundational top Tier 1 level for the future of this sport."
Jannik Sinner
During a recent appearance in Rome, Sinner said the Grand Slam tournaments hadn't shown sufficient respect toward players. At the French Open, where he reached the final last year, he stated the media protest aimed to position players "in a position where we also have a small saying." While uncertain about alternative approaches if this strategy proves ineffective, he expressed confidence in player solidarity.
"This we need to see. It takes all players, and players are very connected, and we are all very much together. I think it's something good, because with us, you know, events are not possible to play. As I also said in Rome, it's about the respect, and then, when we have to wait for over a year for just a small response, having the best ten players and, you know, it's not nice," he explained.
The world No. 1 emphasized that the issue extended beyond prize money considerations: "And in the same time, I hear talking only about prize money, but we talk also about the pension, which is a very important topic, because after [being a] tennis player, also hopefully we get some pension money, and also the decision-making.
"You know, because who decides, if they start now three Grand Slams out of four, we start Sunday, but we don't know if they want to start Saturday or Friday. So we would like to have also a small conversation into that. So let's see where we go. Let's see also how other Grand Slams are going to react after here, and then we're gonna decide."
Coco Gauff
Much like Sabalenka, Gauff weighed in on whether players could eventually boycott the Slams to amplify their demands. It appears those discussions in Rome were the catalyst behind the decision to take a stand on media day in Paris. "I'm one of the players participating. So I won't be here too long," the reigning French Open champion joked.
"No, I don't know. It was something brought to me after Rome. I know they had discussions in Rome, but I was in the tournament. I think for me it's not necessarily like going to maybe make a big difference to the slams, like for this tournament, but I think it shows or a lot of us are all on the same page and have kind of a collective action other than just having conversations, and I think this is the first real point of action we have done. Yeah, I think I'm proud of that we were all able to get on the same page."
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Source: “AOL Sports”
