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Many of the top men’s and women’s tennis stars, including No. 1 players Aryna Sabelenka and Jannik Sinner, executed their “work-to-rule” media day protest as they continue to seek increased revenue and improved welfare benefits from the Grand Slams.
The protesting players limited their media availability to 15 minutes Friday—10 minutes at the press conference and 5 minutes with the French Open host broadcaster, which are the two mandatory media requirements for the players.
The 15-minute limit symbolizes the 15% share of projected revenue that players will receive in prize money at Roland Garros. They are asking for 22% by 2030.
“We just wanted to make our point and we are united. Fifteen minutes is better than zero,” Sabalenka said. “As I said a thousand times today, I have huge respect, but we know what’s happening here, so thank you so much.”
Coco Gauff timed her own press conference, occasionally glancing at the timer she started on her phone, at one point saying that she only had one minute left.
“I’ve got to be strict,” Gauff said laughing.
The top players insisted that the protests were less about them and more about their lower-ranked colleagues.
“It’s about the players who are lower in the ranking, who are suffering,” Sabalenka said. “It’s not easy to live in this tennis world with that percentage that we are earning.”
Women’s No. 5 Jessica Pegula said: “We’re doing this for the whole sport. … We’re trying to basically use our voices and maybe the more media presence that we get to again see if the ecosystem of the whole sport is going to keep building or growing.”
Sinner insisted that the conversation was not only about prize money, but also about having a say in the sport’s decision-making: “Three Grand Slams out of four we start Sunday, but we don’t know if they want to start Saturday or Friday. We would like to also have a small conversation into that.”
Some players, including Sabalenka and Gauff, have previously mentioned idea of boycotting a tournament. The players have yet to go to that extreme, and Sinner said they will reevaluate next steps depending on the response they get from this protest.
“Let’s see how all the Grand Slams are going to react after here, and then we’re going to decide,” Sinner said.
Novak Djokovic, who was celebrating his 39th birthday, was one of the notable omissions from the protest, though he
“I haven’t been part of the process of the conversation or the planning or the decision-making, so I can’t comment on that to be honest,” Djokovic said. “But what I can do is reiterate my own position … I’ve always been on the players’ side and trying to advocate for players rights and a better future for players. But not only top players, players across all rankings.”
Djokovic co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association, a quasi-union, alongside Vasek Pospisil in 2020, but he left the organization earlier this year. The PTPA is currently suing the Grand Slams and other tennis organizations, alleging they are acting as “a cartel” to withhold money and benefits from players.
The PTPA was denied credentials to the French Open and Wimbledon due to their lawsuit.
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