The top tennis stars have had enough of ensuring more and more sales at the world’s biggest tournaments, but are getting less and less of the sales. In Paris they raise their voices for the first time.
The course of every Grand Slam is routine and established with only small modifications across all four editions, be it in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon or New York. The first week is dedicated to qualification, an almost brutal competition between players between world ranking positions 100 and 220 to get the tempting prize money in the first round. The tournament starts with the first round on Sunday or, as in the traditional case of Wimbledon, on the following Monday.
The Friday before the start of the main field is the “Media Day“Reserved. The professionals from the front row face the world press and this Media Day also follows an almost rehearsed ritual. Questions about form, the first opponent and the prospects in the tournament are answered routinely and in a good mood.
French Open: For 15 percent you get 15 minutes
There are rarely moments that could be unpleasant for those involved. Then it goes on to the TV stations, small videos are recorded for social media, which are shared on Instagram, TikTok, etc. in the hours before the tournament starts. Free promotion for the respective professional, it’s informal.
Everything was a little different at Media Day for the 2026 edition of the French Open. At the beginning of the week, L’Equipe reported that most of the leading professionals had agreed to suspend media activities on “Media Day“to be capped at 15 minutes. The 15 minutes represented the share that Grand Slams currently give out in prize money to their players, around 15% of sales.
Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open’s “Media Day”.
When Aryna Sabalenka entered the room, things got interesting. Like all of the other top 10 professionals, she was of course asked whether she would take part in the campaign of only being available to the press for 15 minutes. She confirmed the action, but said, unusually shyly: “It’s not about me. It’s about the players who are further down in the world rankings, who are having difficulties and suffering financially. It’s not easy to survive in this tennis world with the percentage of revenue that is paid out.“
Grand Slams: New sales records every year
Those active want more of the ever-growing pie. The four Grand Slams in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon and New York are highly profitable, with new sales records being set every year. The tournaments are getting bigger and bigger, even the qualifying week is now part of the big picture.
The “Opening Week” in Melbourne is now an integral and lucrative part of the Grand Slam, and the French Open also plays big in the week before the tournament actually starts. The players are available for show training and matches. The increase in prize money, however, was moderate. The US Open and the Australian Open responded to a letter from Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff, among others, last year and increased their prize money by more than 15%.
French Open: 400 million euros in sales
This year, the French Open will pay out almost 62 million euros to the professionals involved. Players who are eliminated in the first round earn 87,000 euros, while the two individual winners receive 2.8 million euros in prize money. A lot of money, but the raw numbers overshadow the supposedly lucrative status quo. In 2025, the French Open generated sales of almost 400 million euros, an increase of 14% compared to the previous year. The increase in prize money, however, was just over five percent.
The Court Philippe-Chatrier, Center Court of the Stade Roland Garros
When the prize money for this year’s edition of the largest clay court tournament was announced, the disappointed stars took things to the next level of escalation. Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka even brought up a boycott of the tournament during the Masters in Rome. Jannik Sinner, the current shining light of men’s tennis, was also disappointed, but already weakened his opinion in Rome and said that he could not imagine a boycott. The players’ goal is to receive 22% of sales revenue as prize money by 2030.
Protest still very tame
The protest in Paris in the run-up to the tournament was rather tame. Aryna Sabalenka was most likely to see a reduction in availability to the press. She emphasized that she would stick to the 15 minutes previously agreed upon by the players and stopped the English part after just over eight minutes: “I’ll be here for ten minutes and then be available for TV for another five minutes.She then referred to the question section in the local language. The press conference was over.
Novak Djokovic celebrated his 39th birthday on Friday. The Serb has long since achieved professor emeritus status in world tennis. He has mentally said goodbye to the current events, but still has a very decided opinion, which he also expressed this Friday in the largest of the press conference rooms at the French Open. He emphasized that although he was not taking part in the campaign and was not involved in the organization, he had been on the side of the players, as he had been throughout his career, and wanted a better future for all professionals, regardless of which region of the world rankings: “We always forget how small the number of people who can make a living from this sport is.“
Novak Djokovic at the French Open’s Media Day
Zverev: some players “even go into the red”
The TV channel Eurosport, which broadcasts in Germany, was most affected by the limited availability of the players. Markus Paszehr, a reporter on site since 2019, did not have the opportunities he had at other Grand Slams: “Yesterday we received the list of players who will not be available to us.” The only player from the top 10 that Paszehr was able to get for an interview was the young Russian Mirra Andreeva, who also emphasized that she fully supported the campaign.
Alexander Zverev also made it clear in his press conference that he fully supports the purpose behind the campaign: “This is not about number 1, 2 or 3 in the world rankings. It’s about the players who are close to the top 200. They are fantastic tennis players, but they can barely make a living from the sport or even end up in the red.“
Conversations at Wimbledon
The discussions will continue over the next few months. There will be a round of discussions between the Grand Slams and player representatives and managers at Wimbledon, with former British professional Tim Henman being discussed as a “mediator”.
The biggest dilemma facing active professionals at the moment seems to be the lack of organization. There are player councils in the two associations WTA and ATP, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) was founded a few years ago by Novak Djokovic, among others. But at the moment the actions still appear to be undiscussed.
The impact on the tournament starting on Sunday is minimal, no professional will boycott the tournament. However, a first step appears to have been taken. The debate will not disappear.