Tennis players end Wimbledon prize-money protest

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Top tennis players, including world number ones Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, have ended their protest over perceived low prize money at Wimbledon, their representatives said Monday.

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The players had said they would limit their press conferences to 15 minutes for the first week of Wimbledon, expanding a similar protest for pre-tournament media duties at the French Open in May.

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Players have claimed they are currently only paid 15 percent of the revenue from the Slams, asking for 22 percent instead.

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Wimbledon has increased its prize money by 20 percent, a move the players described as a “welcome step forward”.

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They later released a statement before the grass-court Grand Slam event saying “that Wimbledon currently pays slightly below 15 percent of revenues to players as prize money”, confirming their protest.

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But their representatives said on the opening day of the tournament that “players have confirmed they will resume normal tournament media duties” after holding “constructive meetings”.

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“This decision is based on Wimbledon’s commitment to return with specific proposals… The underlying matters remain unresolved and players will carefully evaluate the proposals once received,” the statement said.

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“Dialogue with Wimbledon and the other Grand Slams will continue.”

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All England Club chief Sally Bolton expressed relief the protest would not continue during the tournament.

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“I think it’s great news that we and they can now just concentrate on the championships and on the tennis,” she told reporters.

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“We’ve had some really fruitful conversations over the weekend, they’ve been really positive, we’ve effectively agreed what we had agreed before, which is that we want to continue in positive dialogue.”

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The Wimbledon singles champions will bank £3.6 million ($4.76 million), an increase from the £3 million earned by 2025 champions Iga Swiatek and Sinner.

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“I really hope we can finally get to the table and really get it done, come to a conclusion that everyone is going to be happy with,” three-time semi-finalist Sabalenka said last week.

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“Hopefully we’ll never have to do this again.”

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