Aryna Sabalenka cut short her French Open press conference on Friday as top players staged a visible protest over Grand Slam prize-money allocations. Sabalenka, world No 1 Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff have said they are “disappointed” by the share of tournament revenue paid to players and are limiting media appearances to 15 minutes — a gesture meant to symbolise the roughly 15 per cent share players receive.
Players say they are currently paid about 15.5% of Roland Garros revenue, roughly seven percentage points less than the share on the ATP and WTA Tours. In response, leading players have agreed to shorten press conferences to 15 minutes and to reduce other media commitments while discussions continue with tournament organisers.
Sabalenka, praised recently by Novak Djokovic for her leadership on the issue, used her allotted time on Friday to underline the wider impact. “It’s not about me. It’s about the players who are lower in the ranking, who are suffering,” she said. “But as the world No 1, I feel like I have to stand up and to fight for those players.” She added that the protest was intended to be respectful and united: “We wanted to do it in a respectful way… It’s not about you. It’s just we are trying to fight for a fair percentage. We just wanted to make our point, and we are united — 15 minutes is better than zero.”
After completing the English segment, Sabalenka closed her presser and moved to address the media in her national language, signalling the end of the public session.
Gauff also ended her press conference after about 15 minutes, saying: “I have to go. Sorry. I’ll see you guys later.” She described the action as a first real step beyond private conversations: “It shows a lot of us are all on the same page and have kind of a collective action other than just having conversations. This is the first real point of action we have done.”
Several players completed a short camera-facing interview before spending around 10 minutes answering written questions. Roland Garros organisers have expressed regret at the situation and said they are willing to meet with players; a meeting was scheduled for Friday to try to resolve the dispute.
The row follows Roland Garros’ announcement of a boost to the total prize pot from 2025, with an increase of £4.58m (€5.3m) to take the total to £53.39m (€61.7m). The men’s and women’s singles champions are set to receive about £2.42m (€2.8m) each. Despite the hike, players argue the overall revenue share remains unfair.
Not all players favour extreme measures. Taylor Fritz said he was reluctant to discuss a boycott without full consideration of the consequences: “I don’t know if I want to start throwing around the ‘B’ word… it’s a really big deal, and I don’t think we as players should really make big threats like that unless we’re fully ready to do it.”
Sinner echoed calls for unity and respect, repeating that the issue is about being treated properly and the slow pace of responses from organisers. Andrey Rublev framed the dispute as an effort to grow the sport collectively: “It’s more about are we together, and we try to do something together to grow the sport.”
On the court, Sabalenka insisted her physical problems that hampered her clay-court preparations have been resolved and that she is ready to compete at Roland Garros. She arrived at the tournament without a claycourt semi-final this season and managed four wins from six matches on clay, having previously compiled a 26-1 record before the clay swing. After a shock third-round exit in Rome, where she reported lower back and hip issues, Sabalenka said time off and focused recovery had put her back on track. “I struggled in the beginning of the claycourt [swing] physically, but right now I feel 100 per cent,” she told reporters. “We did a great recovery. We focused on recovery and made sure that I’m healed everywhere and I’m ready to go. Right now, physically I’m ready to go.”
Sabalenka downplayed concerns about limited match practice on clay, saying experience, fitness and mental readiness matter most: “I know how to play on clay, and it’s all about being physically and mentally healthy, to go for it, and to be ready to fight.”