Leading tennis players will expand their protest over the prize money at Wimbledon - despite a 20% increase in this year's pot.
The report indicates that leading tennis players will expand their protest over prize money at Wimbledon – despite a 20% increase in this year’s prize money pot.
It further notes that some players limited pre-tournament media to 15 minutes at the recent French Open, but will go a step further at Wimbledon.
They will not only limit the time they offer at the forthcoming media weekend but also plan to restrict post-match appearances to 15 minutes throughout the first week of the Championships, which start on Monday.
The 15-minute limit is meant to symbolise the 15% of revenue that the Grand Slams – broadly speaking – allocate to prize money.
Representatives of the players say the decision was taken “following detailed consultation with players across both tours”.
In Paris, women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka cut short her pre-tournament press conference, while players like Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek also followed the ‘work to rule’ directive.
But Novak Djokovic, who has regularly spoken out on behalf of players’ rights, did not take part in the action.
The All England Club (AELTC) stated it is “surprised and disappointed” by the move.
“Wimbledon puts the players at the heart of all our decisions and we invest significantly in them every year,” it said.
“This is alongside investing hundreds of millions of pounds in upgrades to our player facilities as part of a three-year transformation to create a world-class player performance environment.”
Earlier this month, the players welcomed Wimbledon’s 20% increase as a “genuine and significant step forward”.
The players issued a statement describing the announcement as a “meaningful statement of intent” – while also pointing out it still does not equate to the 16% of tournament revenue they are requesting from all Grand Slams this year.
The total prize fund at this year’s championships will be £64.2m, following the largest annual increase in the event’s history.
The singles’ champions will each take home £3.6m with first-round losers paid £80,000.
