Prize money protest in Paris
Becker joins in on Tenniszoff
May 22, 2026 – 5:21 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Sinner, Sabalenka and Co. are putting pressure on the Grand Slam organizers with an unusual campaign. Backing comes from a three-time Wimbledon champion.
Shortly before the start of the French Open in Paris, tennis professionals made their dissatisfaction with the distribution of prize money at Grand Slam tournaments public. On the official media day on Friday, they ended their press conferences after exactly 15 minutes – as a symbolic reference to their share of revenue of around 15 percent. They demand 22 percent.
Now former tennis professional Boris Becker has also commented on this. In a Eurosport media round, the three-time Wimbledon champion said: “I can understand the players, a tennis career can be over tomorrow. Yes, damn it, if you earn so much money, spend it in prize money even in the early rounds for players who need it to survive.” For him, an increase to 22 percent would be “fair” – also with a view to the US professional leagues: “They don’t want 50 percent like the other sports, but 7 percent more.”
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The conflict has been simmering for a long time. As early as April 2025, prominent professionals from the ATP and WTA tours demanded a 22 percent share of the revenue in a joint letter to the organizers of the four Grand Slam tournaments. When the prize money for the French Open was announced this spring at 61.7 million euros – 9.5 percent more than last year – there was renewed resistance. Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev expressed their “deep disappointment” about the planned prize money in a letter to the organizers of Roland Garros.
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World number one Sabalenka explained why she is getting involved: “As number one in the world, I feel like I have to stand up and fight for the players – for the players with weaker rankings, for players returning from injuries and for the next generation.” The German tennis player Eva Lys agreed: “I am definitely in favor of the fact that something needs to be changed. That’s why I agree with everyone who wants to go through with it.”
