World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suggested players could organize a boycott of the Grand Slam tournaments to secure a bigger share of the prize money.
“At some point we will boycott,” the Belarusian star said at a news conference Tuesday in Rome ahead of the Italian Open. “I feel like that’s going to be the only way to kind of, like, fight for our rights.
“Let’s see how far we can get. If it’s going to take players for boycott. I feel like nowadays, we girls can easily get together and go for this because some of the things I feel like it’s really unfair to the players. I think at some point it’s going to get to this.”
Her comments came after a group of top players from the WTA Tour and ATP Tour met last weekend and voiced their disappointment with the players’ prize share for the upcoming French Open.
The total prize pool at Roland Garros is increasing by 9.5% over last year to a total of $72.3 million. That reportedly only represents about 15% of the French Open’s total projected revenue, a proportion players feel is far below what they deserve.
“Without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage,” Sabalenka said Tuesday, the four-time Grand Slam winner’s 28th birthday.
By comparison, joint events on the ATP and WTA tours award 22% of the revenue to players, according to The Athletic. Players in leagues like the NFL, NBA and MLB earn closer to 50% of league revenues.
Organizers from the four majors — French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open — did not immediately respond to Sabalenka’s remarks.
World No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland called a potential boycott an “extreme” option but pointed to the power of players putting together a united front.
“I think the most important thing honestly is to have proper communication and discussions with the governing bodies so we have some space to talk and maybe negotiate,” she said. “Hopefully before Roland Garros there’s going to be (an) opportunity to have these types of meetings and we’ll see how they go.”
–Field Level Media
